THE   CHURCH    IN  THE   ROMAN   EMPIRE 
BEFORE   A.D.   170. 

By  W.  M.  Ramsay,  A.M.,  Professor  of  Humanity  in  the 
University  of  Aberdeen  ;  author  of  "  The  Historical  Geogra- 
phy of  Asia  Minor,"  etc.,  etc.;  with  maps  and  illustrations, 
one  volume,  8vo. ,  cloth,       ......     $3.00 

"  We  have  to  thank  Professor  Ramsay  for  a  book  of  un- 
usual interest,  which  will  do  much,  we  think,  to  further  the 
success  of  Christian  apologetics." — The  Spectator  {London). 

"  It  presents  an  exposition  of  the  relations  between  the 
Church  and  the  Empire,  that  is,  the  relations  in  which  Chris- 
tians, either  as  individuals  or  as  organized  bodies,  stood  to  the 
political  authority  under  which  they  lived.  It  is  based 
upon  an  examination  of  all  the  classes  of  authorities.  The 
argument  gains  much  from  the  author's  special  familiarity 
with  the  institutions  and  history  of  the  cities  of  Asia  Minor 
in  the  Roman  period.  .  .  .  The  volume  is  an  important 
contribution  to  the  literature  of  the  subject.  Further  than 
this,  it  marks  a  healthful  tendency.  When  a  classical  scholar 
of  large  attainments  brings  to  the  investigation  of  the  prob- 
lems of  early  Church  history  the  same  breadth  of  view,  sound 
method,  and  patient  research,  his  example  should  be  men- 
tioned with  approval." — New  York  Critic. 


G.    P.    PUTNAM'S   SONS 

NEW    YORK    AND    LONDON 


ST.    PAUL   THE   TRAVELLER 
AND  THE  ROMAN  CITIZEN 


■>\.»v 


THE  MORGAN  LECTURES 

(Through  the  liberality  of  Mr.  Henry  A.  Morgan,  Aurora,  N.Y.). 

la  the  Theological  Seminary  of  Auburn  in  the  State  of 
New  York,  1894, 

ST.  PAUL  AS  A  TRAVELLER. 


MANSFIELD  COLLEGE  LECTURES,  1895. 
ST.  PAUL  AS  A  CITIZEN  OF  THE  ROMAN  EMPIRE. 


s>^- 


ST.    PAUL    THE    TRAVELL 


SEP  12  1932 


AND   THE   ROMAN   CITIZEN 


W.   M.   RAMSAY,   D.C.L.,  LL.D. 

PROFESSOR   OF   HUMANITY,   ABERDEEN 

ORD.  MITGLIED  D.  KAIS.  DEUTSCH.  ARCHAOLOG.  GESELLSCH.,  1884 

HON.  MEMBER,  ATHENIAN  ARCHAOLOG.  SOC,  1895  ;   FORMERLY  PROFESSOR  OF  CLASSICAL 

ARCHEOLOGY  AND  FELLOW  OF  EXETER  AND  OF  LINCOLN  COLLEGE,  OXFORD 

LEVERING  LECTURER  IN  JOHNS  HOPKINS  UNIVERSITY,  1894 


New    York:     G.    P.    PUTNAM'S    SONS 

London:    HODDER  &  STOUGHTON 

1896 


Copyright,  1896 

BY 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 


Ube  Iknicljcrbocfcer  press,  IRcw  IRocbcIlc,  tH.  J!?. 


To 
ANDREW  MITCHELL,   Esq., 

The  Walk  House,  Alloa. 

My  Dear  Uncle, 

In  my  'undergraduate  days,  a  residence  in 
Gottingen  durivg  the  Long  Vacation  of  1874  was  a  critical 
point  in  my  life.  Then  for  the  first  time,  under  the  tuition 
of  Professor  Theodor  Bexfey,  /  came  into  close  relations 
with  a  great  scholar  of  the  modern  type,  and  gained  some 
insight  into  modern  methods  of  literary  investigation;  and 
my  thoughts  have  ever  since  turned  towards  the  border  lands 
between  European  and  J  sialic  civilisation.  That  visit, 
like  many  other  things,  I  owe  to  you ;  and  now  I  send  you  the 
result,  such  as  it  is,  the  best  that  I  can  do,  asking  that  you 
will  allow  it  to  go  forth  with  your  name  attached  to  it. 

I  remmn  always,  your  affectionate  nephew, 

WILLIAM  MITCHELL  RAMSAY. 

King's  College,  Aberdeen, 
nth  September.  1895 


THE  MORGAN  LECTURES  FOR  1894 

IN    THE 

AUBURN    THEOLOGICAL    SEMINARY 

AND 

MANSFIELD   COLLEGE  LECTURES,   189J 


PREFACE. 

When  I  was  honoured  by  the  invitation  of  Auburn 
Theological  Seminary,  I  referred  the  matter  to  my 
friends,  Dr.  Fairbairn  and  Dr.  Sanday,  who  knew 
what  were  my  circumstances  and  other  duties.  On 
their  advice  the  invitation  was  accepted ;  and  it 
included  the  condition  that  the  lectures  must  be 
published.  In  revising  the  printed  sheets  I  have 
felt  strongly  the  imperfections  of  the  exposition;  but 
I  can  feel  no  doubt  about  the  facts  themselves,  which 
seem  to  stand  out  so  clear  and  distinct,  that  one 
has  only  to  look  and  write.  Hence  I  have  not  with- 
drawn from  any  of  the  positions  maintained  in  my 
Church  in  the  Roman  Empire  before  170  (apart 
from  incidental  imperfections).  The  present  work 
is  founded  on  the  results  for  which  evidence  is  there 
accumulated ;  but,  in  place  of  its  neutral  tone,  a 
definite  theory  about    the   composition  of  Acts  is 


viii  Preface. 

here  maintained  (see  p.  -^Z^i  f.).  Many  references 
were  made,  at  first,  to  pages  of  that  work,  and  of 
my  Cities  and  Bishoprics  of  Phrygia  (1895),  where 
views  here  assumed  were  explained  and  defended ; 
but  they  had  an  egotistic  appearance,  and,  on  the 
advice  of  a  valued  friend,  have  been  cut  out  from 
the  proof-sheets. 

I  use  in  Acts  the  canons  of  interpretation  which 
I  have  learned  from  many  teachers  (beyond  all 
others  from  Mommsen)  to  apply  to  history  ;  and 
I  have  looked  at  Paul  and  Luke  as  men  among 
men.  My  aim  has  been  to  state  the  facts  of  Paul's 
life  simply,  avoiding  argument  and  controversy  so 
far  as  was  possible  in  a  subject  where  every  point 
is  controverted.  I  have  sometimes  thought  of  a 
supplementary  volume  of  Elucidations  of  Early 
Christian  History^  in  which  reasons  should  be 
stated  more  fully. ^ 

It  is  impossible  to  find  anything  to  say  about 
Acts  that  has  not  been  said  before  by  somebody. 

1  Articles  in  The  Expositor,  Apr.-Aug.,  1895  (P^^t  of  my 
Auburn  material,  excluded  by  the  plan  of  this  book)  have  that 
object ;  also  two  articles,  Sept.  and  Oct. 


Preface,  ix 

Doubtless  almost  everything  I  have  to  say  might 
be  supported  by  some  quotation.  But  if  a  history 
of  opinion  about  Acts  had  been  desired,  I  should 
not  have  been  applied  to.  Where  I  was  conscious 
of  having  learned  any  special  point  from  any  special 
scholar  I  have  mentioned  his  name  ;  but  that,  of 
course,  does  not  exhaust  half  my  debt.  The  inter- 
pretation of  one  of  the  great  ancient  authors  is  a 
long  slow  growth  ;  one  is  not  conscious  where  he 
learned  most  of  his  ideas  ;  and,  if  he  were,  their 
genesis  is  a  matter  of  no  interest  or  value  to  others. 
Not  merely  the  writers  quoted,  but  also  Schurer, 
Meyer- Wendt,  Zdckler,  Holtzmann,  Clemen,  Spitta, 
Zeller,  Everett,  Paley,  Page,  and  many  others, 
have  taught  me ;  and  I  thankfully  acknowledge 
my  debt.  But  specially  Lightfoot,  Lewin's  Fasti 
Sacri,  and  the  two  greatest  editors  of  Acts,  Wetstein 
and  Blass,  have    been  constant  companions. 

Discussions  with  my  wife,  and  with  my  friends. 
Professor  W.  P.  Paterson,  Rev.  A.  F.  Findlay,  and, 
above  all.  Prof.  Rendel  Harris,  have  cleared  my 
ideas  on  many  points,  beyond  what  can  be  distinctly 
specified.      The    book   has  been  greatly  improved 


X  Preface, 

by  criticisms  from  Prof.  Rendel  Harris,  and  by- 
many  notes  and  suggestions  from  Rev.  A.  C. 
Headlam  (who  has  not  suffered  a  friendship,  begun 
on  the  mountains  of  Isauria  and  the  wide  plains 
of  Lycaonia  and  Cappadocia,  to  languish  now 
that  he  "doth  inherit  the  vasty  halls  of"  All  Souls). 
Mr.  A.  Souter,  Caius  College,  Cambridge,  has 
aided  me  in  many  ways,  and  especially  by 
compiling  the  index  of  passages  quoted.  But 
it  would  be  vain  to  try  to  enumerate  all  my 
obligations  to  many  friends. 

I  wish  to  mention  two  facts  about  the  genesis  of 
my  studies  in  this  subject:  (i)  Dr.  Fairbairn  pro- 
posed to  me  the  subject  of  "  St.  Paul  as  a  Citizen  " 
long  ago  ;  and  I  long  shrank  from  it  as  too 
great  and  too  difficult ;  (2)  Dr.  Robertson  Nicoll 
(mindful  of  early  acquaintance  in  Aberdeen)  urged 
me  in  1884  to  write,  and  gave  me  no  peace,  until  I 
published    a  first   article   in    The   Expositor,   Oct., 

1888. 

An  apology  is  due  for  the  variations,  often 
harsh,  from  the  familiar  translation  of  Acts ;  but  a 
little  insertion  or  change  often  saved  a  paragraph. 


Preface.  xi 

Lectures  which  I  had  the  honour  to  give  before 
Harvard  University,  Johns  Hopkins  University 
(the  Levering  Lectures),  and  Union  Seminary,  New 
York,  are  worked  up  in  this  volume. 

King's  College, 
Aberdeen,  2.ird  September^  1895. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGES. 

Chapter  I.  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles         -        -        1-28 

I.  Trustworthiness,  i.  2.  Development  of  Modern  Criticism 
on  Acts,  10.  3.  Working  Hypothesis  of  the  Investiga- 
tion, 14.  4.  The  Author  of  Acts  and  his  Hero,  20. 
5.  The  Text  of  ^cf 5,  23.       Note,  rhv  irpwrov  \6yov,2T. 

Chapter  II.  The  Origin  of  St.  Paul   -        -        -      29-39, 

I.  Paul's  Nationality,  29.  2.  His  Family,  34.  3.  His  Per- 
sonality, 37. 

Chapter  III.  The  Church  in  Antioch  -         -        -      40-69, 

I.  The  Gentiles  in  the  Church,  40.  2.  The  Coming  of 
Barnabas  and  the  Summoning  of  Saul,  44.  3.  The 
Antiochian  Collection  for  the  Poor  of  Jerusalem,  48. 
4.  The  Return  from  Jerusalem  to  Antioch,  60.  5.  The 
Mission  of  Barnabas  and  Saul,  64.  Note.  Date  of  the 
Famine,  68. 

Chapter  IV.  The  Missionary  Journey  of  Barnabas 

AND  Saul 70-8& 

I.  Cyprus  and  Salamis,  70.  2.  Paphos,  73.  3.  The 
Magian  and  the  Apostle,  77.  4.  Saul,  otherwise  Paul, 
81. 


xiv  Contents. 


Chapter  V.    Foundation    of    the     Churches     of 

Galatia 89-129 

I.  Pamphylia,  8g.  2.  "  The  Thorn  in  the  Flesh,"  94.. 
3.  The  Synagogue  in  Pisidian  Antioch,  98.  4.  The 
Church  at  Pisidian  Antioch,  102.  5.  Iconium,  107. 
6.  TheCitiesof  Lycaonia,  no.  7.  Lystra,  114,  8.  The 
Apostles  as  Gods,  116.  g.  Derbe,  119.  10.  Organisa- 
tion of  the  New  Churches,  120.  11.  Pisidia  and 
Pamphylia,  123.  12.  The  Churches  124.  hioie  i. 
Date,  128.      Note  2.  Declension  of  Lystra,  128. 


Chapter  VI.  St.  Paul  in  Galatia  -        -        -  130-151 

I.  The  Imperial  and  the  Christian  Policy,  130.  2.  The  Jews 
in  Asia  and  South  Galatia,  141.  3.  Tone  of  Paul's 
Address  to  the  Galatian  Audiences,  144. 


Chapter  VII.  The  Apostolic  Council  -         -        .  152-177 

I.  Origin  of  the  Council,  152.  2.  The  Dispute  in  Antioch, 
I55'  3-  The  Council,  166.  4.  The  Decree,  171.  5. 
The  Return  to  Antioch,  174.  6.  The  Separation  of 
Paul  and  Barnabas,  175. 


Chapter   VIII.       History   of   the    Churches    of 

Galatia 178-193 

I.  The  Visit  of  Paul  and  Silas,  178.  2.  The  Desertion  of  the 
Galatians,  182.  3.  Letter  to  the  Churches  of  Galatia, 
184.  4.  The  Date  of  the  Galatian  Epistle,  189.  5.  The 
Later  History  of  the  Churches  of  Galatia,  r92. 


Contents.  xv 

PAGES 

Chaptep  IX.  The  Coming  of  Luke  and  the  Call 

INTO  Macedonia    .        .        -        .  194-212 

I.  Across  Asia,  194,  2.  The  Call  into  Macedonia,  198.  3. 
The  Coming  of  Luke,  200,  4.  The  Entrance  into 
Macedonia,  205.  Note  i.  t^j/  *pvyiav  kuI  ro\oTtK^i» 
Xiipav,  210.  Note  2.  ^i7\KBov  rrjv  *.  koI  T.  \tipav 
KwKvBevres,  211. 

Chapter  X.  The  Churches  of  Macedonia    -        -  213-236 

1.  Philippi,  213.  2.  The  Ventriloquist,  215.  3.  Accusa- 
tion and  Condemnation  in  Philippi,  217.  4.  The  Prison 
and  the  Earthquake,  219.  5.  Release  and  Departure 
from  Philippi,  222.  6.  Thessalonica,  226.  7.  The 
Riot  at  Thessalonica,  228.  8.  Beroea,  231.  Noie  i. 
The  Place  of  Prayer  at  Philippi,  235.  Note  2.  The 
Synagogue  at  Thessalonica,  235. 

Chapter  XI.  Athens  and  Corinth         -        -        -  237-261 

I.  Athens,   237.       2.  In    the    University    at    Athens,    241. 

3.  The  Speech  before  the  Council   of  Areopagus,   249. 

4.  Corinth,  253.  5.  The  Synagogue  and  the  Gentiles 
in  Corinth,  255.  6.  The  Imperial  Policy  in  its  Relation 
to  Paul  and  to  Christian  Preaching,  257.  Note  i.  6 
"Apaos  Ilayos,  260.       Note  2.  Gallio,  261. 

Chapter  XII.  The  Church  in  Asia        -        -        -  262-282 

1.  The  Syrian  Voyage  and  the  Return  to  Ephesus,  262.  2. 

Apollos,   Priscilla   and   Aquila,  267.       3.  Ephesus,  269. 

4.  The  Church  in  the  Province  of  Asia,  273.  5. 
Demetrius  the  Silversmith,  277. 


xvi  Contents. 


Chapter  XIII.  The  Voyage  to  Jerusalem     -         -  283-313 

I.  The  Second  European  Journey,  283.  2.  The  Contribu- 
tion of  the  Four  Provinces,  286.  3.  The  Voyage  to 
Troas,  289.  4.  Eutychus,  290.  5.  The  Voyage  to 
Caesareia,  291.  6.  Caesareia  and  Jerusalem,  301.  7. 
The  Crisis  in  the  Fate  of  Paul  and  of  the  Church,  303. 
8.  Finances  of  the  Trial,  310.  Note.  Procuratorship 
of  Felix,  313. 

Chapter  XIV.  The  Voyage  to  Rome     -        -        -  314-343 

I.  Caesareia  to  Myra,  314.  2.  Myra  to  Fair  Havens,  320. 
3.  The  Council,  321.  4.  The  Storm,  326.  5.  Drifting, 
330.  6.  Land,  333.  7.  Paul's  Action  on  the  Ship,  336. 
8.  On  Shore,  339.     9.  Malta,  342. 

Chapter  XV.  St.  Paul  in  Rome    ....  344-362 

I.  The  Coming  to  Rome,  344.  2.  The  Residence  in  Rome, 
349.  3.  Seneca  and  Paul,  353.  4.  The  Trial,  356. 
5.  Last  Trial  and  Death  of  Paul,  360.  Note.  Text  of 
XXVIII  16,  362. 

Chapter  XVI.      Chronology    of    Early    Church 

History — 30-40  a.d.       -         -         -  363-382 

I  The  State  of  the  Church  in  a.d.  30,  363.  2.  Trustworthi- 
ness of  the  Narrative,  Acts  I-V,  367.  3.  Appoint- 
ment of  Stephen  and  the  Seven,  372.  4.  Philip  the 
Evangelist  and  Peter,  377.  5.  Paul  in  Judaea  and 
Arabia,  379. 

Chapter  XVII.  Composition  and  Date  of  Acts   -  383-390 

I.  Hypothesis  of  the  "Travel-Document,"  383.  2.  Date  of 
the  Composition  of  Acts,  386.  3.  Theophilus,  388. 
4.   The  Family  of  Luke,  389. 


Map.     The  Pauline  World,  in  pocket  at  end. 


ST.   PAUL   THE   TRAVELLER 
'>        AND  THE  ROMAN  CITIZEN 


ST.    PAUL. 

CHAPTER  I. 

THE  ACTS  OF   THE  APOSTLES. 

I.  TRUSTWORTHINESS.  The  aim  of  our  work  is  to 
treat  its  subject  as  a  department  of  history  and  of  litera- 
ture. Christianity  was  not  merely  a  religion,  but  also 
a  system  of  life  and  action  ;  and  its  introduction  by 
Paul  amid  the  society  of  the  Roman  Empire  produced 
changes  of  momentous  consequence,  which  the  historian 
must  study.  What  does  the  student  of  Roman  history 
find  in  the  subject  of  our  investigation  ?  How  would  an 
observant,  educated,  and  unprejudiced  citizen  of  the 
Roman  Empire  have  regarded  that  new  social  force,  that 
new  philosophical  system,  if  he  had  studied  it  with  the 
eyes  and  the  temper  of  a  nineteenth  century  investigator  ? 

As  a  preliminary  the  historian  of  Rome  must  make  up  his 
mind  about  the  trustworthiness  of  the  authorities.  Those 
which  we  shall  use  are  :  (i)  a  work  of  history  commonly 
entitled  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  (the  title  does  not  originate 
from  the  author),  (2)  certain  Epistles  purporting  to  be 
written  by  Paul.  Of  the  latter  we  make  only  slight  and 
incidental  use  ;  and  probably  even  those  who  dispute  their 
authenticity  would  admit  that  the  facts  we  use  are  trust- 
worthy, as  being  the  settled  belief  of  the  Church  at  a  very 
early  period.  It  is,  therefore,  unnecessary  to  touch  on  the 
authenticily  of  the  Epistles ;  but  the  question  as  to  the  date 
the   composition,    ui.cl    the   author   of  the   Acts  must  be 


2  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  Chap.  I. 

discussed.  If  the  main  position  of  this  book  is 
admitted,  it  will  furnish  a  secure  basis  for  the  Epistles 
to  rest  on. 

Works  that  profess  to  be  historical  are  of  various  kinds 
and  trustworthy  in  varying  degrees,  (i)  There  is  the 
historical  romance,  which  in  a  framework  of  history  inter- 
weaves an  invented  tale.  Some  of  the  Apocryphal  tales  of 
the  Apostles  are  of  this  class,  springing  apparently  from  a 
desire  to  provide  Christian  substitutes  for  the  popular 
romances  of  the  period.  (2)  There  is  the  legend,  in  which 
popular  fancy,  working  for  generations,  has  surrounded  a 
real  person  and  real  events  with  such  a  mass  of  extraneous 
matter  that  the  historical  kernel  is  hardly  discernible. 
Certain  of  the  Apocryphal  tales  of  the  Apostles  may  belong 
to  this  class,  and  many  of  the  Acta  of  martyrs  and  saints 
certainly  do.  (3)  There  is  the  history  of  the  second  or 
third  rate,  in  which  the  writer,  either  using  good  authori- 
ties carelessly  and  without  judgment,  or  not  possessing 
sufficiently  detailed  and  correct  authorities,  gives  a 
narrative  of  past  events  which  is  to  a  certain  degree 
trustworthy,  but  contains  errors  in  facts  and  in  the 
grouping  and  proportions,  and  tinges  the  narrative  of  the 
past  with  the  colour  of  his  own  time.  In  using  works  of 
this  class  the  modern  student  has  to  exercise  his  historical 
tact,  comparing  the  narrative  with  any  other  evidence  that 
can  be  obtained  from  any  source,  and  judging  whether  the 
action  attributed  to  individuals  is  compatible  with  the 
possibilities  of  human  nature.  (4)  There  is,  finally,  the 
historical  work  of  the  highest  order,  in  which  a  writer 
commands  excellent  means  of  knowledge  either  through 
pc;  f)M  >..  acquaintance  or  through  access  to  original 
authorities,   and   brings   to   the  treatment  of  his  subject 


Sec.  I.  Trustzvorthiness. 


genius,  literary  skill,  and  sympathetic  historical  insight  into 
human  character  and  the  movement  of  events.  Such  an 
author  seizes  the  critical  events,  concentrates  the  reader's 
attention  on  them  by  giving  them  fuller  treatment,  touches 
more  lightly  and  briefly  on  the  less  important  events, 
omits  entirely  a  mass  of  unimportant  details,  and  makes 
his  work  an  artistic  and  idealised  picture  of  the  progressive 
tendency  of  the  period. 

Great  historians  are  the  rarest  of  writers.  By  general 
consent  the  typical  example  of  the  highest  class  of  historians 
is  Thucydides,  and  it  is  doubtful  whether  any  other  writer 
would  be  by  general  consent  ranked  along  with  him.  But 
all  historians,  from  Thucydides  downwards,  must  be 
subjected  to  free  criticism.  The  fire  which  consumes  the 
second-rate  historian  only  leaves  the  real  master  brighter 
and  stronger  and  more  evidently  supreme.  The  keenest 
criticism  will  do  him  the  best  service  in  the  long  rwi.  But 
the  critic  in  his  turn  requires  high  qualities  ;  he  must  be 
able  to  distinguish  the  true  from  the  false  ;  he  must  be 
candid  and  unbiassed  and  open-minded.  There  are  many 
critics  who  have  at  great  length  stated  their  preference  of 
the  false  before  the  true  ;  and  it  may  safely  be  said  that 
there  is  no  class  of  literary  productions  in  our  century  in 
which  there  is  such  an  enormous  preponderance  of  error 
and  bad  judgment  as  in  that  of  historical  criticism.  To 
some  of  our  critics.  Herodotus  is  the  Father  of  History,  to 
others  he  is  an  inaccurate  reproducer  of  uneducated  gossip  : 
one  writer  at  portentous  length  shows  up  the  weakness  of 
Thucydides,  another  can  see  no  fault  in  him. 

But,  while  recognising  the  risk,  and  the  probable  con- 
demnation that  awaits  the  rash  attempt,  I  will  venture  to 
add  one  to  the  number  of  the  critics,  by  stating  in  the 


4  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  Chap.  I. 

following  chapters  reasons  for  placing  the  author  of  Acts 
among  the  historians  of  the  first  rank. 

The  first  and  the  essential  quality  of  the  great  historian  is 
truth.  What  he  says  must  be  trustworthy.  Now  historical 
truth  implies  not  merely  truth  in  each  detail,  but  also  truth 
in  the  general  effect,  and  that  kind  of  truth  cannot  be 
attained  without  selection,  grouping,  and  idealisation. 

So  far  as  one  may  judge  from  books,  the  opinion  of 
scholars  seems  to  have,  on  the  whole,  settled  down  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  author  of  Acts  belongs  either  to  the 
second-  or  the  third-rate  historians.  Among  those  who 
assign  him  to  the  third  rate  we  may  rank  all  those  who 
consider  that  the  author  clipped  up  older  documents  and 
patched  together  the  fragments  in  a  more  or  less  intelligent 
way,  making  a  certain  number  of  errors  in  the  process. 
Theories  of  this  kind  are  quite  compatible  with  assigning 
a  high  degree  of  trustworthiness  to  many  statements  in 
the  book ;  but  this  trustworthiness  belongs  not  to  the 
author  of  the  work,  but  to  the  older  documents  which 
he  glued  together.  Such  theories  usually  assign  varying 
degrees  of  accuracy  to  the  different  older  documents  :  all 
statements  which  suit  the  critic's  own  views  on  early  Church 
history  are  taken  from  an  original  document  of  the  highest 
character ;  those  which  he  likes  less  belong  to  a  less 
trustworthy  document ;  and  those  which  are  absolutely 
inconsistent  with  his  views  are  the  work  of  the  ignorant 
botcher  who  constructed  the  book.  But  this  way  of  judging, 
common  as  it  is,  assumes  the  truth  of  the  critic's  own 
theory,  and  decides  on  the  authenticity  of  ancient 
documents  according  to  their  agreement  with  that  theory  ; 
and  the  strangest  part  of  this  medley  of  uncritical  method 
is  that  other  writers,  who  dispute  the  first  critic's  theory  of 


Sec.  I.  T7'usiworthiness. 


early  Church  history,  yet  attach  some  value  to  his  opinion 
upon  the  spuriousness  of  documents  which  he  has  con- 
demned solely  on  the  ground  that  they  disagree  with  his 
theory. 

The  most  important  group  among  those  who  assign  the 
author  to  the  second  rank  of  historians,  consists  of  them 
that  accept  his  facts  as  true,  although  his  selection  of  what 
he  should  say  and  what  he  should  omit  seems  to  them 
strangely  capricious.  They  recognise  many  of  the  signs 
of  extraordinary  accuracy  in  his  statements  ;  and  these 
signs  are  so  numerous  that  they  feel  bound  to  infer  that 
the  facts  as  a  whole  are  stated  with  great  accuracy  by  a 
personal  friend  of  St.  Paul.  But  when  they  compare  the 
Acts  with  such  documents  as  the  Epistles  of  Paul,  and 
when  they  study  the  history  as  a  whole,  they  are  strongly 
impressed  with  the  inequalities  of  treatment,  and  the 
unexpected  and  puzzling  gaps;  events  of  great  import- 
ance (gee  rrijto  be  dismissed  in  a  brief  and  unsatisfactory 
way  ;  and,  sometimes,  when  one  of  the  actors  (such  as 
Paul)  has  left  an  account  of  an  event  described  in  Acts^ 
they  find  difficulty  in  recognising  the  two  accounts  as 
descriptions  of  the  same  event.  Bishop  Lightfoot's  com- 
parison of  Gal.  II  i-io  with  Acts  XV  may  be  quoted  as 
a  single  specimen  out  of  many :  the  elaborate  process 
whereby  he  explains  away  the  seeming  discrepancies 
would  alone  be  sufficient,  if  it  were  right,  to  prove  that 
Acts  was  a  second-rate  work  of  history.  We  never  feel 
on  firm  historical  ground,  when  discrepancies  are  cleverly 
explained  away  :  we  need  agreements  to  stand  upon. 
Witnesses  in  a  law  court  may  give  discrepant  accounts 
of  the  same  event ;  but  they  are  half-educated,  confused, 
unable  to  rise  to  historical  truth.     But  when  a  historian 


6  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  Chap.  I. 

is  compared  with  the  reminiscences  of  an  able  and 
highly  educated  actor  in  the  same  scenes,  and  when  the 
comparison  consists  chiefly  in  a  laboured  proof  that  the 
discrepancies  do  not  amount  to  positive  contradiction, 
the  conclusion  is  very  near,  that,  if  the  reminiscences 
are  strictly  honest,  the  historian's  picture  is  not  of 
the  highest  rank. 

But  there  is  a  further  difficulty.  How  does  it  come 
that  a  writer,  who  shows  himself  distinctly  second-rate 
in  his  historical  perception  of  the  comparative  import- 
ance of  events,  is  able  to  attain  such  remarkable  accuracy 
in  describing  many  of  them  ?  The  power  of  accurate 
description  implies  in  itself  a  power  of  reconstructing  the 
past,  which  involves  the  most  delicate  selection  and  group- 
ing of  details  according  to  their  truth  and  reality,  i.e., 
according  to  their  comparative  importance.  Acts,  as  Light- 
foot  pictures  it,  is  to  me  an  inconceivable  phenomenon  ; 
such  a  mixture  of  strength  and  weakness,  of  historical 
insight  and  historical  incapacity,  would  be  unique  and 
incredible.  If  the  choice  for  an  intelligible  theory  of 
Acts  lay  between  Lightfoot's  view  and  that  which  is 
presented  in  different  forms  by  Clemen,  Spitta,  and 
other  scholars,  I  could  only  adopt  the  same  point  of 
view  as  these  critics.  Lightfoot,  with  all  his  genius,  has 
here  led  English  scholarship  into  a  cut  de  sac  :  we  caii 
make  no  progress,  unless  we  retrace  our  steps  and  tr\-  a 
new  path.  But  my  belief  is,  that  all  the  difficulties  in 
which  Lightfoot  was  involved  spring  from  the  attempt  to 
identify  the  wrong  events.  In  this  attempt  he  naturally 
found  discrepancies  ;  but  by  a  liberal  allovv-ance  of  gaps  in 
the  narrative  of  Acts,  and  the  supposition  of  different 
points  of  view   and    of  dencient    information   on    Luke's 


Sec.  I.  Trustworthiness. 


part,  it  was  possible  to  show  why  the  eye-witness 
saw  one  set  of  incidents,  while  Acts  described  quite  a 
different  set. 

The  historian  who  is  to  give  a  brief  history  of  a  great 
period  need  not  reproduce   on    a   reduced    uniform    scale < 
all  the  facts  which  he  would    mention  in  a  long    history,  ( 
like  a  picture  reduced   by    a    photographic    process.      If 
a  brief  history  is  to  be  a  work  of  true  art,  it  must  omit 
a  great  deal,  and    concentrate   the    reader's  attention    on 
a  certain  number  of  critical   points    in    the    development 
of  events,  elaborating  these  sufficiently   to  present    them 
in  life-like  and   clearly  intelligible   form.     True   historical 
genius  lies  in  selecting  the  great  crises,  the  great  agents, 
and  the  great  movements,  in    making   these  clear  to  the 
reader    in    their   real    nature,    in    passing    over   with    the 
lightest  and  slightest   touch   numerous   events  and  many 
persons,  but  always  keeping    clear  before  the  reader   the 
plan     of     composition.       The     historian     may     dismiss 
years  with  a  word,  and  devote   considerable    space    to    a 
single  incident.     In    such    a   work,    the    omission    of    an 
event   does   not    constitute  a  gap,  but  is  merely  a    proof 
that  the   event    had    not    sufficient    importance    to    enter 
into  the  plan.     A  gap  is  some  omission  that  offends  our 
reason  and  our   sense    of  harmony    and    propriety  ;    and 
where  something  is  omitted  that   bears    on    the    author's 
plan,  or  where  the  plan  as  conceived  by  the  author  does 
not  correspond  to  the  march  of  events,  but  only  to  some 
fanciful  and  subjective  view,  there  the  work  falls  short  of 
the  level  of  history. 

I  may  fairly  claim  to  have  entered  on  this  investigation 
without  any  prejudice  in  favour  of  the  conclusion  which 
I  shall  now  attempt  to  justify  to  the  reader.     On  the  con- 


8  TJie  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  Chap.  I. 

trary,  I  began  with  a  mind  unfavourable  to  it,  for  the 
ingenuity  and  apparent  completeness  of  the  Tubingen 
theory  had  at  one  time  quite  convinced  me.  It  did  not  lie 
then  in  my  line  of  life  to  investigate  the  subject  minutely; 
but  more  recently  I  found  myself  often  brought  in  contact 
with  the  book  of  Acts  as  an  authority  for  the  topography, 
antiquities,  and  society  of  Asia  Minor.  It  was  gradually 
borne  in  upon  me  that  in  various  details  the  narrative 
showed  marvellous  truth.  In  fact,  beginning  with  the 
fixed  idea  that  the  work  was  essentially  a  second-century 
composition,  and  never  relying  on  its  evidence  as  trust- 
worthy for  first-century  conditions,  I  gradually  came  to 
find  it  a  useful  ally  in  some  obscure  and  difficult  investiga- 
tions. But  there  remained  still  one  serious  objection  to 
accepting  it  as  entirely  a  first-century  work.  According 
to  the  almost  universally  accepted  view,  this  history  led 
Paul  along  a  path  and  through  surroundings  which  seemed 
to  me  historically  and  topographically  self-contradictory. 
It  was  not  possible  to  bring  Paul's  work  in  Asia  Minor 
into  accordance  with  the  facts  of  history  on  the  supposition 
that  an  important  part  of  that  work  was  devoted  to  a 
district  in  the  northern  part  of  the  peninsula,  called 
Galatia.  It  may  appear  at  first  sight  a  mere  topographi- 
cal subtlety  whether  Paul  travelled  through  North  Galatia 
or  through  Lycaonia  ;  but,  when  you  consider  that  any 
details  given  of  his  journeys  must  be  false  to  the  one  side 
just  in  proportion  as  they  are  true  to  the  other,  you  will 
perceive  that,  if  you  try  to  apply  the  narrative  to  the 
wrong  side  of  the  country,  it  will  not  suit  the  scene,  and  if 
it  does  not  suit,  then  it  must  appear  to  be  written  by  a 
person  ignorant  of  what  he  pretends  to  know.  The  case 
might  be  illustrated  from  our  own  experience.     Suppose 


Sec.  I.  Trustworthmess. 


that  an  unknown  person  came  to  Auburn  from  New 
York,  and  you  wished  to  find  out  whether  he  was  an 
impostor  or  not.  In  our  country  we  are  exposed  to 
frequent  attempts  at  imposition,  which  can  often  be 
detected  by  a  few  questions  ;  and  you  would  probably  ask 
him  about  his  experiences  on  his  journey  from  New  York 
to  Auburn.  Now  suppose  you  had  been  informed  that  he 
had  come  not  along  the  direct  road,  but  by  a  long  detour 
through  Boston,  Montreal,  and  Toronto,  and  had  thus  ar- 
rived at  Auburn  ;  and  suppose  that  you  by  questioning 
elicited  from  him  various  facts  which  suited  only  a  route 
through  Schenectady  and  Utica,  you  would  condemn  the 
man  as  an  impostor,  because  he  did  not  know  the  road 
which  he  pretended  to  have  travelled.  But  suppose  further 
that  it  was  pointed  out  by  some  third  party  that  this 
stranger  had  really  travelled  along  the  direct  road,  and 
that  you  had  been  misinformed  when  you  supposed  him  to 
have  come  by  the  round-about  way,  your  opinion  as  to 
the  stranger's  truthfulness  would  be  instantly  affected. 
Precisely  similar  is  the  case  oi  Acts  as  a  record  of  travel  ; 
generations  and  centuries  have  been  attempting  to  apply 
it  to  the  wrong  countries.  I  must  speak  on  this  point 
confidently  and  uncompromisingly,  for  the  facts  stand  out 
so  clear  and  bold  and  simple  that  to  affect  to  hesitate  or 
to  profess  any  doubt  as  to  one's  judgment  would  be  a 
betrayal  of  truth. 

I  know  the  difficulties  of  this  attempt  to  understand 
rightly  a  book  so  difficult,  so  familiar,  and  so  much  mis- 
understood as  Acts.  It  is  probable  that  I  have  missed  the 
right  turn  or  not  grasped  the  full  meaning  in  some  cases. 
I  am  well  aware  that  I  leave  some  difficulties  unexplained, 
.sometimes  from  inability,  sometimes  from   mere  omission. 


lO  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  Chap.  I. 

But  I  am  sustained  by  the  firm  belief  that  I  am  on  the 
right  path,  and  by  the  hope  that  enough  of  difficulties 
have  been  cleared  away  to  justify  a  dispassionate  historical 
criticism  in  placing  this  great  writer  on  the  high  pedestal 
that  belongs  to  him. 

2.  DEVELOPMENT  OF  MODERN  CRITICISM  ON 
ACTS.  With  regard  to  the  trustworthiness  of  Acts  as  a 
record  of  events,  a  change  is  perceptible  in  the  tendency  of 
recent  criticism.  Setting  aside  various  exceptional  cases, 
and  also  leaving  out  of  sight  the  strictly  "  orthodox  "  view, 
which  accepts  Acts  as  truth  without  seeking  to  compare  or 
to  criticise  (a  view  which  in  its  simplicity  and  completeness 
needs  neither  defence  nor  examination),  we  may  say  that 
for  a  time  the  general  drift  of  criticism  was  to  conceive  the 
book  as  a  work  composed  in  the  second  century  with  the 
intention  of  so  representing  (or  rather  misrepresenting)  the 
facts  as  to  suit  the  writer's  opinion  about  the  Church  ques- 
tions of  his  own  time.  All  theories  of  this  class  imply 
that  the  atmosphere  and  surroundings  of  the  work  are  of 
the  second-century  type  ;  and  such  theories  have  to  be 
founded  on  a  proof  that  the  details  are  represented  in  an 
inaccurate  way  and  coloured  by  second-century  ideas.  The 
efforts  of  that  earlier  school  of  critics  were  directed  to  give 
the  required  proof;  and  in  the  attempt  they  displayed  a 
misapprehension  of  the  real  character  of  ancient  life  and 
Roman  history  which  is  often  astonishing,  and  which  has 
been  decisively  disproved  in  the  progress  of  Roman 
historical  investigation.  All  such  theories  belong  to  the 
pre-Mommsenian  epoch  of  Roman  history  :  they  are  now 
impossible  for  a  rational  and  educated  critic  ;  and  they 
hardly  survive  except  in  popular  magazines  and  novels  fo 
the  semi-religious  order. 


Sec.  2.  Development  of  Modern  Critieis?n  on  Acts,   ii 

But  while  one  is  occasionally  tempted  to  judge  harshly 
the  assumption  of  knowledge  made  by  the  older  critics 
where  knowledge  was  at  the  time  difficult  or  impossible,  it 
is  only  fair  also  to  emphatically  acknowledge  the  debt 
we  owe  them  for  practising  in  a  fearless  and  independent 
spirit  the  right  and  much-needed  task  of  investigating 
the  nature  and  origin  of  the  book. 

Warned  by  the  failure  of  the  older  theories,  many  recent 
critics  take   the  line    that  Acts   consists   of  various    first- 
century  scraps  put  together  in  the  book  as  we  have  it  by  a 
second-century    Redactor.      The  obvious    signs    of  vivid 
accuracy  in   many  of  the   details    oblige   these  critics  to 
assume   that   the   Redactor   incorporated  the   older  scraps 
with  no  change  except  such  as  results  from  different  sur- 
roundings and  occasional  wrong  collocation.     Some  hold 
that  the  Redactor  made  considerable  additions  in  order  to 
make  a  proper  setting  for  the  older  scraps.     Others  reduce 
the  Redactor's  action  to  a  minimum  ;    Spitta  is  the  most 
remarkable  example  of  this  class.     In  the  latter  form  the 
Redaction-theory  is  the  diametrical  opposite  of  the   old 
tendency  theories  ;  the  latter  supposed   that  the  second- 
century  author  coloured  the  whole  narrative  and  put  his 
own  views  into  every  paragraph,  while,  according  to  Spitta, 
the  Redactor  added   nothing  of  consequence  to  his  first- 
century   materials  except  some  blunders  of  arrangement. 
The  older  theories   were   founded  on  the  proof  of  a  uni- 
formity of  later  style  and  purpose  throughout  the  book  ; 
the  later  theories   depend   on   the   proof  of  differences  of 
style   between   the  different  parts.     The  old   critics   were 
impressed  by  the  literary  skill  of  the  author,  while  the  later 
critics  can  see  no  literary  power  or  activity  in  him.      Any 
ari^ument    in    favour    of    the    one    class    of    theories    tells 


1 2  TJic  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  Chap.  I. 

against  the  other ;  and,  if  we  admit  (as  I  think  we  must 
admit),  that  each  view  is  founded  on  a  correct  but  one- 
sided perception  of  certain  qualities  in  this  remarkable 
book,  we  may  fairly  say  that  each  disproves  the  other. 

Certain  theorists,  and  especially  Clemen  in  his  extra- 
ordinarily ingenious  and  bold  work  Chronologic  der  Paulin- 
ischen  Briefe,  see  clearly  that  such  a  bald  scissors-and-paste 
theory  as  Spitta's  is  quite  inadequate  to  explain  the  many- 
sided  character  of  this  history.  Dr.  Clemen  supposes  that 
three  older  documents,  a  history  of  the  Hellenistic  Jews, 
a  history  of  Peter,  and  a  history  of  Paul,  were  worked  into 
one  work  by  a  Judaist  Redactor,  who  inserted  many 
little  touches  and  even  passages  of  considerable  length  to 
give  a  tone  favourable  to  the  Judaising  type  of  Christianity  ; 
and  that  this  completed  book  was  again  worked  over  by 
an  anti-Judaist  Redactor  II,  who  inserted  other  parts  to 
give  a  tone  unfavourable  to  the  Judaising  type  of  Chris- 
tianity, but  left  the  Judaistic  insertions.  Finally,  a 
Redactor  III  of  neutral  tone  incorporated  a  new  document 
(VI  1-6),  and  gave  the  whole  its  present  form  by  a 
number  of  small  touches. 

When  a  theory  becomes  so  complicated  as  Clemen's, 
the  humble  scholar  who  has  been  trained  only  in  philo- 
logical and  historical  method  finds  himself  unable  to  keep 
pace,  and  toils  in  vain  behind  this  daring  flight.  We  shall 
not  at  present  stop  to  argue  from  examples  in  ancient  and 
modern  literature,  that  a  dissection  of  this  elaborate  kind 
cannot  be  carried  out.  Style  is  seen  in  the  whole  rather 
than  in  single  sentences,  still  less  in  parts  of  sentences  ;  and 
a  partition  between  six  authors,  clause  by  clause,  sentence 
by  sentence,  paragraph  by  paragraph,  of  a  work  that 
seemed  even  to  bold  and  revolutionary  critics  like  Zeller 


Sec.  2.  Development  of  Modern  Criticism  on  Acts.   13 

and  Baur  in  Germany  and  Renan  in  France  to  be  a  model 
of  unity  and  individuality  in  style,  is  simply  impossible. 
Moreover,  the  plan  of  this  study  is  not  to  argue  against 
other  theories,  but  to  set  forth  a  plain  and  simple  interpre- 
tation of  the  text,  and  appeal  to  the  recognised  principle  of 
criticism  that,  where  a  simple  theory  of  origin  can  be  shown 
to  hold  together  properly,  complicated,  theories  must  give 
way  to  it. 

One  feature  in  Dr.  Clemen''s  theory  shows  true  insight. 
No  simple  theory  of  gluing  together  can  exhaust  the  varied 
character  of  the  Acts  :  a  very  complex  system  of  junctures 
is  needed  to  explain  its  many-sidedness.  But  Dr.  Clemen 
has  not  gone  far  enough.  There  is  only  one  kind  of  cause 
that  is  sufficiently  complex  to  match  the  many-sided  aspects 
of  the  book,  and  that  cause  is  the  many-sided  character  of 
a  thoughtful  and  highly  educated  man. 

Dr.  Clemen  seems  to  assume  that  every  instance  where 
Paul  adopts  an  attitude  of  conciliation  towards  the  Jews  is 
added  by  a  Judaistic  Redactor,  and  every  step  in  his  grow- 
ing estrangement  from  them  is  due  to  an  anti-Judaistic 
Redactor.  He  does  not,  I  venture  to  think,  allow  due  scope 
to  the  possibility  that  an  historian  might  record  both  classes 
of  incidents  in  the  interests  of  truth.  It  is  admitted  that  a 
dislocation  occurred  in  the  early  Church,  and  that  the 
contention  between  the  Judaising  and  the  Universalising 
(to  adopt  a  convenient  designation)  parties  was  keen  for  a 
time.  It  is  natural  that  the  estrangement  should  be  gradual ; 
and  the  historian  sets  before  us  a  gradual  process.  He 
shows  us  Paul  acting  on  the  principle  that  the  Jews  had 
the  first  claim  (XIII  46J,  and  always  attempting  to  conciliate 
them  ;  but  he  also  shows  us  that  Paul  did  not  struggle 
against  the  facts,  but  turned  his  back  on  the  Jews  when 


14  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  Chat.  I. 

they  rejected  him  (as  their  whole  history  proves,  even 
without  the  evidence  o{  Acts,  that  they  were  sure  to  do). 

It  is  hard  to  find  a  sufficient  foundation  for  Dr.  Clemen's 
theory  without  the  preliminary  assumption  that  an  early 
Christian  must  necessarily  be  incapable  of  taking  a  broad 
and  unbiassed  view  of  history  as  a  whole.  Grant  that 
assumption,  and  his  theory  is  built  up  with  marvellous 
skill,  patience  and   ingenuity. 

3.  WORKING  HYPOTHESIS  OF  THE  INVESTI- 
GATION. Our  hypothesis  is  that  Acts  was  written  by  a 
great  historian,  a  writer  who  set  himself  to  record  the  facts 
as  they  occurred,  a  strong  partisan  indeed,  but  raised  above 
partiality  by  his  perfect  confidence  that  he  had  only  to 
describe  the  facts  as  they  occurred,  in  order  to  make  the 
truth  of  Christianity  and  the  honour  of  Paul  apparent.  To 
a  Gentile  Christian,  as  the  author  of  Acts  was,  the  refusal  of 
the  Jews  to  listen  to  Paul,  and  their  natural  hatred  of  him 
as  untrue  to  their  pride  of  birth,  must  appear  due  to  pure 
malignity  ;  and  the  growing  estrangement  must  seem  to 
him  the  fault  of  the  Jews  alone.  It  is  not  my  object  to 
assume  or  to  prove  that  there  was  no  prejudice  in  the  mind 
of  Luke,  no  fault  on  the  part  of  Paul  ;  but  only  to  examine 
whether  the  facts  stated  are  trustworth}',  and  leave  them  to 
speak  for  themselves  (as  the  author  does).  I  shall  argue 
that  the  book  was  composed  by  a  personal  friend  and 
disciple  of  Paul,  and  if  this  be  once  established  there  will 
be  no  hesitation  in  accepting  the  primitive  tradition  that 
Luke  was  the  author. 

We  must  face  the  facts  boldly.  If  Luke  wrote  Acts, 
his  narrative  must  agree  in  a  striking  and  convincing 
way  with  Paul's :  they  must  confirm,  explain  and  com- 
plete one  another.     This  is   not  a  case  of  two  common- 


Sec.  3.    Working  Hypothesis  of  the  Investigation.     1 5 


place,  imperfectly  educated,  and  not  very  observant 
witnesses  who  give  divergent  accounts  of  certain  incidents 
which  they  saw  without  paying  much  attention  to  them. 
We  have  here  two  men  of  high  education,  one  writing  a 
formal  history,  the  other  speaking  under  every  obligation 
of  honour  and  conscience  to  be  careful  in  his  words  :  the 
subjects  they  speak  of  were  of  the  most  overpowering 
interest  to  both :  their  points  of  view  must  be  very 
similar,  for  they  were  personal  friends,  and  one  was  the 
teacher  of  the  other,  and  naturally  had  moulded  to  some 
extent  his  mind  during  long  companionship.  If  ever 
there  was  a  case  in  which  striking  agreement  was 
demanded  by  historical  criticism  between  two  classes 
of  documents,  it  is  between  the  writings  of  Paul  and  of 
Luke. 

There  is  one  subject  in  particular  in  which  criticism 
demands  absolute  agreement.  The  difference  of  position 
and  object  between  the  two  writers,  one  composing  a 
formal  history,  the  other  writing  letters  or  making 
speeches,  may  justifiably  be  invoked  to  account  for  some 
difference  in  the  selection  of  details.  But  in  regard  to 
the  influence  of  the  Divine  will  on  human  affairs  they 
ought  to  agree.  Both  firmly  believed  that  God  often 
guided  the  conduct  of  His  Church  by  clear  and  open 
revelation  of  His  will ;  and  we  should  be  slow  to  believe 
that  one  of  them  attributed  to  human  volition  what  the 
other  believed  to  be  ordered  by  direct  manifestation  of 
God  (p.  140).  We  shall  try  to  prove  that  there  is  a 
remarkable  agreement  between  them  in  regard  to  the 
actions  which  they  attribute  to  direct  revelation. 

Further,  we  cannot  admit  readily  that  peculiarities 
of  Luke's  narrative  are  to  be  accounted  for  by  want  of 


1 6  TJie  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  Chap.  I. 

information  :  in  his  case  this  explanation  really  amounts 
to  an  accusation  of  culpable  neglect  of  a  historian's 
first  duty,  for  full  information  was  within  Luke's  reach, 
if  he  had  taken  the  trouble  to  seek  it.  We  shall  find 
no  need  of  this  supposition.  Finally,  it  is  hard  to  be- 
lieve that  Paul's  letters  were  unknown  to  Luke  ;  he  was 
in  Paul's  company  when  some  of  them  were  written  ;  he 
must  have  known  about  the  rest,  and  could  readily  learn 
their  contents  in  the  intimate  intercommunication  that 
bound  together  the  early  Churches.  We  shall  try  to 
show  that  Luke  had  in  mind  the  idea  of  explaining  and 
elucidating  the  letters. 

In  maintaining  our  hypothesis  it  is  not  necessary  either 
to  show  that  the  author  made  no  mistake,  or  to  solve  every 
difficulty.  From  them  that  start  with  a  different  view  more 
may  be  demanded  ;  but  here  we  are  making  a  historical 
and  literary  investigation.  The  greatest  historians  of  other 
periods  are  not  above  error  ;  and  we  may  admit  the  possi- 
bility that  a  first-century  historian  has  made  errors.  We 
shall  not  make  much  use  of  this  proviso;  but  still  the  condi- 
tions of  the  investigation  must  be  clearly  laid  down. 

Again,  in  almost  every  ancient  writer  of  any  value  there 
remain  unsolved  problems  by  the  score.  Where  would  our 
philological  scholars  be,  if  every  question  were  satisfactorily 
disposed  of?  The  plan  and  the  date  of  Horace's  longest 
work,  the  Art  of  Poetry^  are  unsolved  and  apparently 
insoluble  ;  every  theory  involves  serious  difficulties  ;  yet 
that  does  not  make  its  authenticity  doubtful.  That  there 
remain  some  difficulties  not  explained  satisfactorily  in 
Acts  docs  not  disprove  its  first-century  origin. 

Further,  it  is  necessary  to  study  every  historian's  method, 
and  not  to  judge  him  according  to  whether  or  not  he  uses 


Sec.  3.     Working  Hypothesis  of  the  Investigation.     1 7 

our  methods.  For  example,  Thucydides  makes  a  practice 
of  putting  into  the  mouths  of  his  characters  speeches  which 
they  never  delivered  ;  no  modern  historian  would  do  this  : 
the  speeches  of  Thucydides,  however,  are  the  greatest  and 
most  instructive  part  of  his  history.  They  might  be  truly 
called  unhistorical  ;  but  the  critic  who  summed  up  their 
character  in  thut  epithet  would  only  show  his  incapacity 
for  historical  criticism.  Similarly  the  critic  must  study 
Luke's  method,  and  not  judge  him  according  to  whether  he 
writes  exactly  as  the  critic  considers  a  history  ought  to  be 
written. 

Luke's  style  is  compressed  to  the  highest  degree ;  and 
he  expects  a  great  deal  from  the  reader.  He  does  not 
attempt  to  sketch  the  surroundings  and  set  the  whole  scene 
like  a  picture  before  the  reader  ;  he  states  the  bare  facts 
that  seem  to  him  important,  and  leaves  the  reader  to 
imagine  the  situation.  But  there  are  many  cases  in  which, 
to  catch  his  meaning  properly,  you  must  imagine  yourself 
standing  with  Paul  on  the  deck  of  the  ship,  or  before  the 
Roman  official  ;  and  unless  you  reproduce  the  scene  in 
imagination,  you  miss  the  sense.  Hence,  though  his  st}'le  is 
simple  and  clear,  yet  it  often  becomes  obscure  from  its 
brevity;  and  the  meaning  is  lost,  because  the  reader  has  an 
incomplete,  or  a  positively  false  idea  of  the  .situation.  It  is 
always  hard  to  recreate  the  remote  past  ;  knowledge,  im- 
agination, and,  above  all,  sympathy  and  love  are  all  needed. 
But  Asia  Minor,  in  which  the  scene  is  often  laid,  was  not 
merely  little  known,  but  positively  wrongly  known. 

I  know  of  no  person  except  Bishop  Lightfoot  who  has 
seriously  attempted  to  test  or  revise  or  improve  the 
traditional  statements  (often,  the  traditional  blunders) 
about     Asian    antiquities    as    bearing   on    Acts ;    but    the 


1 8  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  Chap.  I. 

materials  were  not  at  his  disposal  for  doing  this  successfully. 
But  it  is  bad  method  to  found  theories  of  its  composition 
on  wreng  interpretations  of  its  meaning :  the  stock  mis- 
conceptions should  first  be  cleared  away,  and  the  book 
studied  in  relation  to  the  localities  and  the  antiquities. 

Luke  was  deficient  in  the  sense  for  time ;  and  hence  his 
chronology  is  bad.  It  would  be  quite  impossible  from  Acts 
alone  to  acquire  any  idea  of  the  lapse  of  time.  That  is  the 
fault  of  his  age  ;  Tacitus,  writing  the  biography  of  Agricola 
(about  90  A.D.),  makes  no  chronological  statement,  until  in 
the  last  chapter  he  gives  a  series  of  statistics.  Luke  had 
studied  the  sequence  of  events  carefully,  and  observes  it  in 
his  arrangement  minutely,  but  he  often  has  to  carry  forward 
one  thread  of  his  narrative,  and  then  goes  back  in  time  to 
take  up  another  thread  ;  and  these  transitions  are  some- 
times rather  harsh.  Yet,  in  respect  of  chronology,  he  was, 
perhaps,  less  careless  than  would  appear :  see  p.  23. 

His  plan  leads  him  to  concentrate  attention  on  the  critical 
steps.  Hence  he  often  passes  lightly  over  a  long  period  of 
gradual  development  marked  by  no  striking  incident ;  and 
from  his  bad  chronological  sense  he  gives  no  measure  of  the 
lapse  of  time  implied  in  a  sentence,  a  clause,  or  even  a  word. 
He  dismisses  ten  years  in  a  breath,  and  devotes  a  chapter 
to  a  single  incident.  His  character  as  an  historian,  there- 
fore, depends  on  his  selection  of  topics.  Does  he  show  the 
true  historian's  power  of  seizing  the  great  facts,  and  mark- 
ing clearly  the  stages  in  the  development  of  his  subject  ? 
Now,  what  impresses  me  is  the  sense  of  proportion  in 
Acts,  and  the  skill  with  which  a  complex  and  difficult 
subject  is  grouped  to  bring  out  the  historical  development 
from  the  primitive  Church  (Ch.  I-V)  through  the  successive 
steps  associated  with  four  great  names,  Stephen,   Philip, 


Sec.  3.     Working  Hypothesis  of  the  Investigation.     1 9 

Peter,  Paul,  Where  the  author  passes  rapidly  over  a 
period  or  a  journey,  we  shall  find  reason  to  believe  that 
it  was  marked  by  no  striking  feature  and  no  new 
foundation.  The  axiom  from  which  we  start  must  be 
that  which  is  assumed  in  all  literary  investigations — pre- 
ference is  to  be  given  to  the  interpretation  which  restores 
order,  lucidity,  and  sanity  to  the  work.  All  that  we  ask 
in  this  place  is  the  admission  of  that  axiom,  and  a  patient 
hearing,  and  especially  that  the  reader,  before  condemning 
any  early  steps  as  not  in  harmony  with  other  incidents, 
will  wait  to  see  how  we  can  interpret  those  incidents. 

The  dominant  interpretation  rests  avowedly  on  the 
principle  that  Acts  is  full  of  gaps,  and  that  "nothing  is 
more  striking  than  the  want  of  proportion  ".  Those  un- 
fortunate words  of  Bishop  Lightfoot  are  worked  out  by 
some  of  his  successors  with  that  "  illogical  consistency " 
which  often  leads  the  weaker  disciples  of  a  great  teacher 
to  choose  his  errors  for  loving  imitation  and  emphasis. 
With  such  a  theory  no  historical  absurdity  is  too  gross 
to  be  imputed  to  Luke.  But  our  hypothesis  is  that 
Luke's  silence  about  an  incident  or  person  should  always 
be  investigated  as  a  piece  of  evidence,  on  the  principle  that 
he  had  some  reason  for  his  silence ;  and  in  the  course  of 
this  study  we  shall  in  several  cases  find  that  omission  is 
a  distinct  element  in  the  effect  of  his  narrative. 

There  is  a  contrast  between  the  early  chapters  oi  Acts 
and  the  later.  In  the  later  chapters  there  are  few  sen- 
tences that  do  not  afford  some  test  of  their  accuracy  by 
mentioning  external  facts  of  life,  history,  and  antiquities. 
But  the  earlier  chapters  contain  comparatively  few  such 
details  ;  the  subject  in  them  is  handled  in  a  vaguer  way, 
with  a   less   vigorous   and   nervous   grasp ;   the   facts   are 


20  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  Chap.  I. 

rarely  given  in  their  local  and  historical  surroundings,  and 
sometimes  seem  to  float  in  air  rather  than  to  stand  on  solid 
ground. 

This  fundamental  difference  in  handling  must  be  acknow- 
ledged ;  but  it  can  be  fairly  attributed  to  difference  of 
information  and  of  local  knowledge.  The  writer  shows 
himself  in  his  later  narrative  to  be  a  stranger  to  the  Levant 
and  familiar  with  the  yEgean  ;  he  could  not  stand  with  the 
same  confidence  on  the  soil  of  Syria  and  Palestine,  as  on 
that  of  Asia  Minor  or  Greece.  Moreover,  he  was  dealing 
with  an  earlier  period  ;  and  he  had  not  the  advantage  of 
formal  historical  narratives,  such  as  he  mentions  for  the 
period  described  in  his  First  Book  (the  Gospel).  Luke 
was  dependent  on  various  informants  in  the  earlier  chap- 
ters  of  Acts  (among  them  Paul  and  Philip) ;  and  he  put 
together  their  information,  in  many  cases  reproducing  it 
almost  verbatim.  Sometimes  the  form  of  his  record  gives 
a  clue  to  the  circumstances  in  which  he  learned  it.  That 
line  of  investigation  is  liable  to  become  subjective  and 
fanciful ;  but  modern  historical  investigation  always  tries 
to  get  behind  the  actual  record  and  to  investigate  the 
ultimate  sources  of  statements, 
^  4.  THE  AUTHOR  OF  ACTS  AND  HIS  HERO. 
It  is  rare  to  find  a  narrative  so  simple  and  so  little 
forced  as  that  oi  Acts.  It  is  a  mere  uncoloured  recital  of 
the  important  facts  in  the  briefest  possible  terms.  The 
narrator's  individuality  and  his  personal  feelings  and 
preferences  are  almost  wholly  suppressed.  He  is  entirely 
absorbed  in  his  work  ;  and  he  writes  with  the  single  aim 
to  state  the  facts  as  he  has  learned  them.  It  would  be 
difficult  in  the  whole  range  of  literature  to  find  a  work 
where  there  is  less  attempt  at  pointing  a  moral  or  drawing 


Sec.  4.     The  Author  of  Acts  and  his  Hero.  21 


a  lesson  from  the  facts.  The  narrator  is  persuaded  that 
the  facts  themselves  in  their  barest  form  are  a  perfect 
lesson  and  a  complete  instruction,  and  he  feels  that  it 
would  be  an  impertinence  and  even  an  impiety  to  intrude 
his  individual  views  into  the  narrative. 

It  is,  however,  impossible  for  an  author  to  hide  himself 
completely.  Even  in  the  selection  of  details,  his  personality 
shows  itself.  So  in  Acts,  the  author  shows  the  true  Greek 
feeling  for  the  sea.  He  hardly  ever  omits  to  name  the  har- 
bours which  Paul  sailed  from  or  arrived  at,  even  though 
little  or  nothing  in  the  way  of  incident  occurred  in  them. 
But  on  land  journeys  he  confines  himself  to  missionary  facts, 
and  gives  no  purely  geographical  information  ;  where  any 
statements  of  a  geographical  character  occur,  they  serve  a 
distinct  purpose  in  the  narrative,  and  the  reader  who  accepts 
them  as  mere  geographical  specifications  has  failed  to  catch 
the  author's  purpose  (see  p.  205  f.). 

Under  the  surface  of  the  narrative,  there  moves  a  current 
of  strong  personal  affection  and  enthusiastic  admiration  for 
Paul.  Paul  is  the  author's  hero ;  his  general  aim  is  to  de- 
scribe the  development  of  the  Church  ;  but  his  affection  and 
his  interest  turn  to  Paul ;  and  after  a  time  his  narrative 
grolips  itself  round  Paul.  He  is  keenly  concerned  to  show 
that  Paul  was  in  perfect  accord  with  the  leaders  among  the 
older  Apostles,  but  so  also  was  Paul  himself  in  his  letters. 
That  is  the  point  of  view  of  a  personal  friend  and  disciple, 
full  of  affection,  and  jealous  of  Paul's  honour  and  reputation. 

The  characterisation  of  Paul  in  Acts  is  so  detailed  and 
individualised  as  to  prove  the  author's  personal  acquaint- 
ance. Moreover,  the  Paul  of  Acts  is  the  Paul  that  ap- 
pears to  us  in  his  own  letters,  in  his  ways  and  his  thoughts, 
in  his  educated  tone  of  polished  courtesy,  in  his  quick  and 


2  2  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  Chap.  I. 

vehement  temper,  in  the  extraordinary  versatility  and  adapt- 
ability which  made  him  at  home  in  every  society,  moving 
at  ease  in  all  surroundings,  and  everywhere  the  centre  of 
interest,  whether  he  is  the  Socratic  dialectician  in  the 
agora  of  Athens,  or  the  rhetorician  in  its  University,  or 
conversing  with  kings  and  proconsuls,  or  advising  in  the 
council  cMi  shipboard,  or  cheering  a  broken-spirited  crew  to 
make  one  more  effort  for  life.  Wherever  Paul  is,  ho  one 
present  has  eyes  for  any  but  him. 

Such  a  view  could  not  have  been  taken  by  a  second - 
century  author.  The  Church  in  the  second  century  had 
passed  into  new  circumstances  and  was  interested  in  quite 
different  questions.  The  catastrophe  of  the  persecution  of 
Domitian,  and  the  effect  produced  for  the  time  on  the 
attitude  of  the  Church  by  the  deliberate  attempt  to  sup- 
press and  destroy  it  on  the  part  of  the  imperial  government, 
made  a  great  gulf  between  the  first  century  and  the  second 
century  of  Christian  history.^  Though  the  policy  of  the 
great  emperors  of  the  second  century  came  back  to 
somewhat  milder  measures,  the  Church  could  not  recover 
the  same  feeling  that  Paul  had,  so  long  as  Christianity 
continued  to  be  a  proscribed  religion,  and  a  Christian  was 
in  theory  at  least  an  outlaw  and  a  rebel.  Many  questions 
that  were  evidently  vital  to  the  author  of  Acts  were 
buried  in  oblivion  during  the  persecution  of  Domitian, 
and  could  not  have  been  present  in  the  mind  of  a  later 
author.  Our  view  classes  Acts  with  i  Peter,  intermediate 
between  the  Pauline  letters  and  the  literature  of  the  last 
decade  of  the  century  (such  as  Revelation) .  Luke  shows 
the  same  attitude  as  Paul,  but  he  aims  at  proving  what 

Paul  feels. 

1  Church  in  R.  E.,  Ch.  XIII. 


Sec.  4.      The  Author  of  Acts  and  his  Hero.  23 


The  question  must  be  fairly  considered  whether  Luke 
had  completed  his  history.  There  is  one  piece  of  evi- 
dence from  his  own  hand  that  he  had  not  completed  it, 
but  contemplated  a  third  book  at  least.  His  work  is 
divided  into  two  books,  the  6*^7^^^/ and  the  Acts,  but  in  the 
opening  line  of  the  Acts  he  refers  to  the  Gospel  as  the  First 
Discourse  (Trpwro?  X0709).  Had  he  not  contemplated  a 
third  book,  we  expect  the  term  Former  Discourse  {7rp6repo<;). 
In  a  marked  position  like  the  opening  of  a  book,  we  must 
take  the  word  first  strictly  {Note,  p.  27). 

We  shall  argue  that  the  plan  of  Acts  has  been  ob- 
scured by  the  want  of  the  proper  climax  and  conclusion, 
which  would  have  made  it  clear,  and  also  that  the  author 
did  not  live  to  put  the  final  touches  to  his  second  book. 
Perhaps  we  may  thus  account  for  the  failure  of  chrono- 
logical data.  In  Book  I  there  are  careful  reckonings  qf 
dates  (in  one  case  by  several  different  eras)  at  the  great 
steps  of  the  narrative.  In  Book  II  there  are  no  such 
calculations  (except  the  vague  "under  Claudius"  in 
XI  28,  in  itself  a  striking  contrast  to  "the  fifteenth 
year  of  Tiberius,"  Uike  III  i).  Tacitus,  as  we  saw, 
appends  the  dates  to  his  Ajricota :  Luke  incorporates 
his  dates,  but  they  have  all  the  appearance  of  being  put 
into  an  already  finished  narrative.  If  other  reasons  prove 
that  Acts  wants  the  finishing  touches,  we  may  reckon 
among  the  touches  that  would  have  been  added  certain 
calculations  of  synchronism,  which  would  have  furnished  a 
chronological  skeleton  for  the  narrative. 

If  the  work  was   left   incomplete,  the  reason,  perhaps, 
lay  in  the  author's  martyrdom  under  Domitian. 

5.  THE   TEXT   OF  ACTS.     It   was    my   wish  to  take 
no   notice   here   of  differences  of  reading,  but  simply  to 


24  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  Chap.  I. 


follow  Westcott  and  Hort  (except  in  two  impossible 
cases,  XI  20,  XII  25),  This,  however,  proved  impracti- 
cable ;  for  there  are  some  cases  in  which  over-estimate  of 
the  two  great  MSS.  (the  Sinaitic  and  the  Vatican)  has 
led  to  the  adoption  of  a  reading  that  obscures  history. 
In  several  places  I  have  been  driven  back  on  the 
Received  Text  and  the  Authorised  Version,  and  in 
others  the  Bezan  Text  either  contains  or  gives  the  clue 
to  the  original  text ;  and  wherever  the  Bezan  Text  is 
confirmed  by  old  Versions  and  by  certain  Greek  MSS., 
it  seems  to  me  to  deserve  very  earnest  consideration,  as 
at  least  pointing  in  the  direction  of  an  original  reading 
subjected  to  wide-spread  corruption. 

It  is  universally  admitted  that  the  text  of  Acts  was 
exposed  to  very  careless  or  free  handling  in  the  second 
century.  This  came  about  in  various  ways,  for  the  most 
part  unintentionally,  but  partly  by  deliberate  action. 
At  that  time  great  interest  was  taken  in  gathering  from 
trustworthy  sources  supplementary  information,  beyond 
what  was  contained  in  the  Gospels  and  Acts.  Eusebius, 
III  39,  quotes  a  passage  from  Papias  describing  his 
eager  inquiries  after  such  information  from  those  who 
had  come  into  personal  relations  with  the  Apostles, 
and  another,  V  20,  from  Irenaeus,  describing  how  Poly- 
carp  used  to  tell  of  his  intercourse  with  John  and  the 
rest  that  had  seen  the  Lord.  Now  there  was  a  natural 
tendency  to  note  on  the  margin  of  a  MS.  additional 
information  obtained  on  good  authority  about  incidents 
mentioned  in  the  text ;  and  there  is  always  a  danger 
that  such  notes  may  be  inserted  in  the  text  by  a 
copyist,  who  takes  them  for  parts  accidentally  omitted. 
There  is  also  a  certain  probability  that  deliberate  addi- 


Sec.  5.  The   Text  of  Acts.  25 

tions  might  be  made  to  the  text  (as  deliberate  excisions 
are  said  to  have  been  made  by  Marcion).  The  balance 
of  evidence  is,  on  the  whole,  that  Mark  XVI  9-20  is  a 
later  composition,  designed  to  complete  a  narrative  that 
had  all  the  appearance  of  being  defective.  Again,  ex- 
planatory notes  on  the  margin  of  a  MS.  are  often  added 
by  'a  reader  interested  in  the  text  ;  there  is  no  doubt 
that  in  some  books  such  glosses  have  crept  into  the 
text  through  the  errors  of  the  copyist  ;  and  there  are  on 
our  view  three  such  cases  at  least  in  the  generally 
accepted  text  of  Acts. 

But,  beyond  this,  when  translations  were  made  into 
Syriac  and  Latin  (the  former  certainly,  the  later  probably, 
as  early  as  the  middle  of  the  second  century),  the  attention 
of  scholars  was  necessarily  directed  to  the  difficulties  in 
interpretation  of  the  text,  with  its  occasional  archaic  ex- 
pressions, obscure  words,  and  harsh  constructions ;  and 
the  practical  usefulness  of  a  simplified  and  modernised 
text  was  thus  suggested.  Tatian's  Harmony  of  the  Four 
Gospels^  and  Marcion's  doctored  editions,  show  how  at- 
tempts were  made  from  different  points  of  view  and  in 
different  ways  to  adapt  the  sacred  narrative  for  popular 
use :  Tatian  changed  the  order,  Marcion  altered  the  text 
by  excision  or  worse.  Thus  the  plan  of  a  simplified 
text  was  quite  in  keeping  with  the  custom  of  the  second 
century ;  and  the  Bezan  Text  seems  to  be  of  that  kind. 
As  a  whole  it  is  not  Lukan :  it  has  a  fatal  smoothness, 
it  loses  the  rather  harsh  but  very  individual  style  of  Luke, 
and  it  neglects  some  of  the  literary  forms  that  Luke 
observed.  But  it  has  a  high  value  for  several  reasons  : 
\\)  it  preserves  with  corruptions  a  second-century  witness 
to   the   text,   and    often   gives    valuable,   and    sometimes 


2  6  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  Chap.  I. 

conclusive,  evidence  of  readings ;  (2)  it  shows  what  view 
was  held  as  to  the  meaning  of  various  passages  in  the 
second  century  ;  (3)  it  adds  several  pieces  of  information 
which  probably  rest  on  good  evidence,  though  they  were 
not  written  by  Luke.  Thus  we  can  often  gather  from  the 
Bczan  comment  what  was  the  original  reading  commented 
on;  and  it  vindicates  the  great  MSS.  in  XVI  12  against 
Dr.  Hort's  conjecture.  It  reveals  to  us  the  first  beginnings 
of  Pauline  legend  (p.  io6j;  and  in  this  respect  it  stands 
on  much  the  same  level  as  the  original  text  of  the  Acta 
of  Paul  and  Thekia,  where  also  it  is  hard  to  distinguish 
v/here  history  ends  and  romance  begins.  With  the  help 
of  these  two  authorities,  combined  with  early  Christian 
inscriptions  (which  begin  only  about  190,  but  give  retro- 
spective evidence),  we  can  recover  some  faint  idea  of  the 
intellectual  life  of  the  second-century  Christians  in  Asia 
Minor  and  North  Syria. 

The  Bezan  Text  will,  indubitably,  afford  much  study  and 
some  discov'eries  in  the  future.  Its  explanatory  simplifica- 
tions often  show  the  influence  of  the  translations  which 
first  suggested  the  idea  of  a  simplified  text.  When  the 
need  for  an  explanation  arose  in  connection  with  a  render- 
ing in  Latin,  or  in  Syriac,  the  simplification  took  a  Latin 
or  Syriac  colour;  but  this  was  consciously  adopted  as  a 
simplification,  and  not  through  mere  blundering. 

While  the  Bezan  Text  has  gone  furthest  from  the 
original  Lukan  Text,  there  is  no  MS.  which  has  not 
suffered  seriously  from  the  various  causes  of  depravation. 
Several  of  the  errors  that  have  affected  the  two  great 
MSS.  look  like  changes  made  intentionally  in  order  to 
suit  a  mistaken  idea  of  the  meaning  of  other  passages; 
but  there  is  always  a  possibility  that  in  these  cases  an 


Sec.  5.  The   Text  of  Acts.  27 

editor  was  making  a  choice  between  varieties  of  reading 
that  had  been  produced  unintentionally.  Only  in  the 
Bezan  Text  can  we  confidently  say  that  deliberate 
alterations    were    made    in    the    text. 

I  believe  that  the  Bezan  Reviser  made  many  skilful 
changes  in  passages  relating  to  Asia  Minor  and  some 
foolish  changes  in  European  passages.  In  some  of  these 
cases,  the  view  remains  open  that  the  Bezan  reading  is  the 
original ;  but  evidence  is  as  yet  not  sufficient  to  give 
certainty.  The  home  of  the  Revision  is  along  the  line  of 
intercourse  between  Syrian  Antioch  and  Ephesus,  for  the 
life  of  the  early  Church  lay  in  intercommunication,  but  the 
Reviser  was  connected  with  Antioch,  for  he  inserts  "  we  " 
in  XI  28.     Dr.  Chase  emphasises  this  point. 

Note.  Tov  rrrpcoTov  Xoyov.  The  commentators  univer- 
sally regard  this  as  an  example  of  the  misuse  of  7rpa)To<i ; 
but  they  give  no  sufficient  proof  that  Luke  elsewhere 
misused  that  word.  In  Stephen's  speech  (VII  12)  the 
adverb  irpcoTov  misused  for  irpoTepov  occurs,  but  a  dis- 
passionate consideration  of  the  speeches  in  Acts  must 
convince  every  reader  that  they  are  not  composed  by  the 
author,  but  taken  verbatim  from  other  authorities  (in  this 
case  from  Philip  at  Caesareia,  XXI  8).  Blass,  p.  16, 
points  out  with  his  usual  power,  that  the  character  and 
distinction  of  the  comparative  and  superlative  degrees 
was  decaying  in  the  Greek  of  the  N.T.,  and  that  in 
many  adjectives  one  of  the  two  degrees  played  the 
part  of  both.  But  such  changes  do  not  affect  all  words 
simultaneously ;  and  the  distinction  between  irpoTepo'i  and 
TrpwTO';  might  be  expected  to  last  longer  than  that  between 
most  other  pairs.     We  obsen'^e  that   Paul   uses   both,  and 


2  8  The  Acts  of  the  Apostles.  Chap.  I. 

distinguishes  them  correctly  (though  he  blurs  the  dis- 
tinction in  other  words) :  to  -nporepov  as  the  former  of 
two  visits  Gal.  IV  13,  Tqv  irporepav  avaaTpo(^i]v  Epli. 
IV  22.  Blass,  v.'ith  the  grammarian's  love  for  making 
absolute  rules,  conjectures  the  last  example  away,  in 
order  to  lay  down  the  law  that  the  adjective  Trporepo? 
is  not  employed  in  N.T. ;  but  we  follow  the  MSS.,  and 
find  in  them  the  proof  that  the  distinction  was  only  in 
process  of  decay,  and  that  the  pair  TrpoTepo^-Trpcoro?  still 
survived  among  the  more  educated  writers  in  N.T. 
So  long  as  Paul  could  distinguish  irpo-repo'^  and  irpSiTO';, 
there  is  a  probability  that  Luke  would  not  utterly  confuse 
them  ;  and  the  fact  that  John  uses  'rrpwro'i  in  the  most 
glaring  way  for  7rp6repo<i  has  no  bearing  on  Luke,  who 
was  a  far  better  master  of  Greek.  We  find  several 
instances  where  Luke  uses  Trpcoro?  correctly :  in  Acts 
XII  10  there  were  obviously  three  gates  and  three 
wards  to  pass  (Peter  was  allowed  to  pass  the  first  and 
the  second,  being  taken  presumably  as  a  servant,  but 
no  servant  would  be  expected  to  pass  beyond  the  outer- 
most ward  at  night;  and  a  different  course  was  needed 
there) :  in  Luke  II  2  a  series  of  census  are  contemplated 
as  having  occurred,  p.  386:  in  Luke  XI  26  the  man 
is  described  as  passing  through  several  stages:  cp.  XIII 
30,  XIV  18,  XVI  S,  XIX  16,  XX  29.  And,  if  there 
survived  in  Luke  the  slightest  idea  of  any  difference 
between  comparative  and  superlative,  the  opening  of  a 
book  is  the  place  where  we  should  expect  to  find  the 
difference  expressed.  We  conclude,  then,  that  the  use  of 
7r/>&jT09  there  is  more  easily  reconcilable  with  the  plan  of 
three  books,  than  of  two ;  but  certainty  is  not  attainable, 
as  Trpore/ao?  does  not  actually  occur  in  his  writings. 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE    ORIGIN    OF    ST.    PAUL, 

I.  PAUL'S  NATIONALITY.  In  the  growth  of  Christi- 
anity we  observe  that  all  the  threads  of  development  which 
had  been  formed  in  the  life  of  the  great  races  of  older 
history  are  gathered  together  into  one  complex  whole. 
Hence  we  have  just  the  same  assurance  of  the  truth  of 
Christianity  that  we  have  of  the  trustworthiness  of  earlier 
history :  the  earlier  works  into  the  later,  the  later  grows 
out  of  the  earlier,  in  such  a  way  that  all  must  be  taken 
together.  The  correspondence  is  in  itself  a  guarantee  of 
truth.  Each  exists  for  the  other:  each  derives  its  full 
comprehensibility  from  the  other.  We  must  accept  the 
general  outline  of  early  history  as  a  whole,  or  we  must 
reject  it  as  a  whole  on  the  plea  of  insufficient  evidence. 
There  is  not  a  fact  of  early  history,  whether  Christian  or 
pre-Christian,  which  is  not  susceptible  of  being  disputed 
with  a  fair  show  of  rational  and  logical  argument :  the 
evidence  is  nowhere  such  as  would  convince  a  man  whose 
mind  is  made  up  against  the  trustworthiness  of  ancient 
history.  Let  any  one  test  the  evidence  for  any  point  in 
regard  to  the  battles  of  Salamis  or  of  Marathon  ;  and 
he  will  find  that  everywhere  he  is  reduced  to  a  balance 
of  evidence,  and  frequently  to  a  balance  so  delicate  that  no 
one  can  feel  any  assured    confidence  on  the  point.      Yet 

(^9) 


;o  The   Orio-in  of  St.   Paul.  Chap.  II. 

our  confidence  in  the  general  facts  regarding  each  battle 
and  its  results  is  not,  as  a  rule,  affected  by  our  uncertainty 
as  to  the  details.  Doubtless  there  will  always  be  some 
who  argue  that  the  trustworthiness  of  the  whole  must 
be  proportionate  to  the  trustworthiness  of  the  parts,  and 
conclude  that,  where  all  details  are  so  uncertain,  the 
whole  is  unworthy  of  study ;  and  those  who  cannot  see 
— or  rather  feel — for  themselves  the  fallacy  of  the  argu- 
ment will  not  be  convinced  by  any  reasoning  that  can 
be  adduced.  But  for  those  who  do  not  adopt  the  ex- 
treme agnostic  position,  there  is  no  other  logical  position 
except  that  of  accepting  the  general  scheme  of  ancient 
history,  in  which  Christianity  is  the  crowning  factor  that 
gives  unity  and  rational  plan  to  the  whole. 

The  life  of  Paul  partakes  of  the  uncertainty  that  en- 
velopes all  ancient  history.  As  regards  every  detail  we 
shall  find  ourselves  in  the  position  of  balancing  evidence ; 
as  to  almost  every  detail  we  shall  find  ourselves  amid  a 
bewildering  variety  of  opposite  opinion  and  assertion 
among  modern  scholars  of  every  school  and  shade  ;  and, 
strangest  of  all,  in  regard  to  two  or  three  points  where 
there  exists  the  nearest  approach  to  a  general  agreement 
between  all  the  various  schools,  we  shall  find  ourselves 
unable  to  agree.  Owing  to  the  peculiar  character  of  the 
evidence,  we  shall  find  it  best  to  begin  in  the  middle  of 
Paul's  life  and  study  the  events  of  the  years  44  to  61, 
and  thereafter  to  sketch  in  outline  the  first  half  of  his 
life. 

At  present,  however,  we  must  emphasise  the  complex 
influences  amid  which  Paul  grew  up.  According  to  the 
law  of  his  country,  he  was  first  of  all  a  Roman  citizen. 
That  character  superseded  all  others  before  the  law  and 


Sec.  I.  Paul's  Nationality.  31 

in  the  general  opinion  of  society  ;  and  placed  him  amid 
the  aristocracy  of  any  provincial  town.  In  the  first 
century,  when  the  citizenship  was  still  jealously  guarded, 
the  civitas  may  be  taken  as  a  proof  that  his  family  was 
one  of  distinction  and  at  least  moderate  wealth.  It  also 
implies  that  there  was  in  the  surroundings  amid  which 
he  grew  up,  a  certain  attitude  of  friendliness  to  the 
Imperial  government  (for  the  new  citizens  in  general, 
and  the  Jewish  citizens  in  particular,  were  warm  partisans 
of  their  protector,  the  new  Imperial  regime),  and  also  of 
pride  in  a  possession  that  ensured  distinction  and  rank 
and  general  respect  in  Tarsus.  As  a  Roman,  Paul  had  a 
novien  and  prcsnojuen,  probably  taken  from  the  Roman 
officer  who  gave  his  family  civitas ;  but  Luke,  a  Greek, 
had  no  interest  in  Roman  names.  Paulus,  his  cognomen, 
was  not  determined  by  his  tiomen  :  there  is  no  reason  to 
think  he  was  an  ^Emilius  (as  some  suggest). 

Paul  was,  in  the  second  place,  a  "  Tarsian,  a  citizen  of  a 
distinguished  city"  (XXI  39,  IX  11).  He  was  not  merely 
a  person  born  in  Tarsus,  owing  to  the  accident  of  liis 
family  being  there  :  he  had  a  citizen's  rights  in  Tarsus. 
We  may  confidently  assume  that  Paul  was  careful  to 
keep  within  demonstrable  law  and  custom,  when  he 
claimed  to  be  a  Tarsian  citizen  in  describing  himself 
to  the  Tribune.  According  to  the  strict  interpretation 
of  the  Roman  law,  the  civitas  superseded  all  other 
citizenship,  but  this  theoretical  exclusiveness  was  op- 
posed to  the  Imperial  spirit ;  and  it  is  clear  that  Roman 
cives  in  a  provincial  city  commonly  filled  the  position  of 
high-class  citizens,  and  even  had  magistracies  pressed 
upon  them  by  general  consent.  Now,  if  Paul's  family 
had  merely  emigrated  to  Tarsus  from  Judaea  some  years 


32  The   Origin  of  St.  Paul.  Chap.  II. 

before  his  birth,  neither  he  nor  his  father  would  have 
been  "  Tarsians,"  but  merely  "  residents "  {incolcB).  It  is 
probable,  but  not  certain,  that  the  family  had  been 
planted  in  Tarsus  with  full  rights  as  part  of  a  colony 
settled  there  by  one  of  the  Seleucid  kings  in  order  to 
strengthen  their  hold  on  the  city.  Such  a  re-foundation 
took  place  at  Tarsus,  for  the  name  Antiocheia  was  given 
it  under  Antiochus  IV  (175-164  B.C.).  The  Seleucid 
kings  seem  to  have  had  a  preference  for  Jewish  colonists 
in  their  foundations  in  Asia  Minor.  Citizenship  in 
Tarsus  might  also  have  been  presented  to  Paul's  father 
or  grandfather  for  distinguished  services  to  the  State ; 
but  that  is  much  less  probable. 

In  the  third  place,  Paul  was  "  a  Hebrew  sprung  from 
Hebrews ".  The  expression  is  a  remarkable  one.  It  is 
used  not  to  a  Jewish  audience,  but  to  a  Greek  Church 
{Phil.  Ill  5),  and  it  is  similar  to  a  familiar  expression 
among  the  Greeks:  "a  priest  sprung  from  priests" 
is  a  term  commonly  applied  to  members  of  the  great 
sacerdotal  families  which  play  so  important  a  part  in 
the  society  of  Asian  cities.  He  was  a  Jew  at  least  as 
much  as  he  was  a  Tarsian  and  a  Roman,  as  regards 
his  early  surroundings  ;  and  it  is  obvious  that  the  Jewish 
side  of  his  nature  and  education  proved  infinitely  the 
most  important,  as  his  character  developed.  But  it  is  a 
too  common  error  to  ignore  the  other  sides.  Many 
interpreters  seem  to  think  only  of  his  words,  XXII  3^ 
"  I  am  a  Jew  born  in  Tarsus,"  and  to  forget  that  he 
said  a  few  moments  before,  "  I  am  a  Jew,  a  Tarsian,  a 
citizen  of  no  mean  city ".  To  the  Hebrews  he  em- 
phasises his  Jewish  character,  and  his  birth  in  Tarsus 
is    added    as    an    accident  :    but    to    Claudius    Lysias,    a 


Sec.  I.  Paul's  Nationality.  33 

Greek-Roman,  he  emphasises  his  Tarsian  citizenship 
(after  having  told  of  his  Roman  citizenship).  Now, 
there  is  no  inconsistency  between  these  descriptions  of 
himself.  Most  of  us  have  no  difficulty  in  understanding 
that  a  Jew  at  the  present  day  may  be  a  thoroughly 
patriotic  English  citizen,  and  yet  equally  proud  of  his 
ancient  and  honourable  origin.  In  the  extraordinarily 
mixed  society  of  the  Eastern  provinces,  it  was  the  usual 
rule  in  educated  society  that  each  man  had  at  least  two 
nationalities  and  two  sides  to  his  character.  If  we  would 
clearly  understand  the  society  in  which  Paul  worked, 
and  the  mission  of  Rome  to  make  the  idea  of  cosmo-  - 
politanism  and  universal  citizenship  a  practical  reality  ^ 
— an  idea  that  had  been  first  conceived  by  the  Stoic 
philosophy  in  its  attempt  to  fuse  Greek  and  oriental 
thought  into  a  unified  system — we  must  constantly  bear 
in  mind  that  double  or  even  triple  character,  which  was 
so  common. 

To  the  Hebrew  of  that  period  it  was  specially  easy 
to  preserve  the  Hebraic  side  of  his  life  along  with  his 
Greek  citizenship  ;  for  the  Jewish  colony  in  a  Seleucid 
city  preserved  as  a  body  its  double  character.  It  was 
not  merely  a  part  of  the  city,  whose  members  were 
citizens,  but  it  was  also  recognised  by  the  Seleucid 
Empire  and  afterwards  by  the  Roman  Empire  as  "  the 
Nation  of  the  Jews  in  that  city  ".  Thus  arose  a  strange 
and  often  puzzling  complication  of  rights,  which  caused 
much  heart-burning  and  jealousy  among  the  non-Jewish 
citizens  of  the  city,  and  which  was  at  last  terminated  by 
the  action  of  Vespasian  in  A.D.  70,  when  he  put  an  end 
to  the  legal  existence  of  a  "Jewish  nation,"  and  resolved 
the  Jews  into  the  general  population  of  the  Empire. 

3 


34  The  Origin  of  St.  Paul.  Chap.  II. 

From  this  wide  and  diversified  training  we  may  under- 
stand better  Paul's  suitability  to  develop  the  primitive 
Judaic  Church  into  the  Church  of  the  Roman  World 
(for  beyond  that  he  never  went  in  practice,  though  in 
theory  he  recognised  no  limit  short  of  universal 
humanity),  his  extraordinary  versatility  and  adaptability 
(which  evidently  impressed  Luke  so  much,  p.  22),  and 
his  ability  in  turning  the  resources  of  civilisation  to  his 
use.  The  Jew  in  his  own  land  was  rigidly  conservative  ; 
but  the  Jew  abroad  has  always  been  the  most  facile  and 
ingenious  of  men.  There  are  no  stronger  influences  in 
education  and  in  administration  than  rapidity  and  ease 
of  travelling  and  the  postal  service  ;  Paul  both  by 
precept  and  example  impressed  the  importance  of  both 
on  his  Churches  ;  and  the  subsequent  development  of  the 
Church  was  determined  greatly  by  the  constant  inter- 
communication of  its  parts  and  the  stimulating  influence 
thereby  produced  on  the  whole. 

2.  PAUL'S  FAMILY.  If  Paul  belonged  to  a  family 
of  wealth  and  position,  how  comes  it  that  in  great  part 
of  his  career  (but  not  in  the  whole,  p.  312)  he  shows 
all  the  marks  of  poverty,  maintaining  himself  by  his 
own  labour,  and  gratefully  acknowledging  his  indebted- 
ness to  the  contributions  of  his  Philippian  converts,  in 
Rome,  in  Corinth,  and  twice  in  Thessalonica  {Phil.  IV  15, 
II  Cor.  XI  9;  see  p.  360)?  It  was  not  simply  that  he 
voluntarily  worked  with  his  hands  in  order  to  impress  on 
his  converts  the  dignity  and  duty  of  labour,  for  he  conveys 
the  impression,  II  Cor.  XI  8  f,  I  Thess.  II  9,  that  he  had 
to  choose  between  accepting  help  from  his  converts,  and 
making  his  own  living.  But  it  often  happens  in  our  own 
experience  that  a  member  of  a  rich  family  is  in  a  position 


Sec.  2.  Paul's  Family.  35 

of  poverty.  It  would  be  enough  simply  to  accept  the 
fact ;  but,  as  Paul  in  his  later  career  is  found  in  a  different 
position,  and  as  the  same  conjecture  about  his  poverty 
must  arise  in  every  one's  mind,  we  may  glance  for  a  moment 
at  the  relations  in  which  Paul  would  stand  to  his  own 
family  after  his  conversion. 

The  relations  between  Paul  and  his  family  are  never 
alluded  to  by  himself,  and  only  once  by  Luke,  who  tells 
how  his  sister's  son  saved  his  life  in  Jerusalem  by  giving 
private  information  of  the  secret  conspiracy  against  him, 
XXIII  16.  How  could  this  young  man  get  immediate 
information  about  a  conspiracy,  which  was  concocted  by 
a  band  of  zealots,  and  arranged  in  private  with  the  high 
priests  and  elders  ?  In  absolute  secrecy  lay  the  sole  hope 
of  success ;  and  the  conspiracy  must  therefore  have  been 
imparted  only  to  a  i^v^^  and  probably  only  the  leaders 
of  the  extreme  Jewish  party  were  aware  of  it.  We  must, 
I  think,  infer  that  the  nephew  acquired  his  information 
in  the  house  of  some  leading  Jew  (to  which  he  had  access 
as  belonging  to  an  influential  family),  and  that  he  was 
himself  not  a  Christian,  for  in  the  heated  state  of  feeling 
it  may  be  taken  as  practically  certain  that  a  Christian 
would  not  have  had  free  and  confidential  entry  to  the 
house  of  one  of  the  Jewish  leaders.  But,  further,  if  Paul's 
nephew  were  trusted  with  such  a  secret,  it  must  have  been 
assumed  that  he  was  hostile  to  Paul. 

Now,  as  Paul  himself  says,  he  had  been  brought  up 
in  strict  Judaic  feeling,  not  as  a  Sadducee,  accepting 
the  non-Jewish  spirit,  but  as  a  Pharisee ;  and  we  must 
infer  that  the  spirit  of  his  family  was  strongly  Pharisaic. 
The  whole  history  of  the  Jews  shows  what  was  likely 
to   be   the   feeling   among   his   parents  and  brothers  and 


36  The  Origin  of  St.   Paul.  Chap.  II. 

sisters,  when  he  not  merely  became  a  Christian,  but 
went  to  the  Gentiles.  Their  pride  was  outraged  ;  and 
we  should  naturally  expect  that  such  a  family  would 
regard  Paul  as  an  apostate,  a  foe  to  God  and  the 
chosen  race,  and  a  disgrace  to  the  family  ;  his  own 
relatives  might  be  expected  to  be  his  most  bitter 
enemies.  Looking  at  these  probabilities,  we  see  a  special 
force  in  Paul's  words  to  the  Philippians,  III  8,  that  he 
had  given  up  all  for  Christ,  "  for  whom  I  suffered  the 
loss  of  all  things  and  do  count  them  but  refuse  ".  These 
emphatic  words  suit  the  mouth  of  one  who  had  been 
disowned  by  his  family,  and  reduced  from  a  position 
of  wealth  and  influence  in  his  nation  to  poverty  and 
contempt. 

Perhaps  it  is  some  terrible  family  scene  that  made 
Paul  so  keenly  alive  to  the  duty  owed  by  a  father  to 
his  children.  Probably  nothing  in  family  life  makes  a 
more  awful  and  lasting  impression  on  a  sensitive  mind 
than  a  scene  where  a  respected  and  beloved  parent 
makes  a  demand  beyond  what  love  or  duty  permits, 
and  tries  to  enforce  that  demand  by  authority  and 
threats.  If  Paul  had  to  face  such  a  scene,  we  can 
appreciate  the  reason  why  he  lays  so  much  stress  on 
the  duty  of  parents  to  respect  their  children's  just 
feelings :  "  ye  fathers,  provoke  not  your  children  to 
wrath  ;  but  bring  them  up  in  the  education  and  admoni- 
tion of  the  Lord "  {EpJu  VI  4)  :  "  fathers,  provoke  not 
your  children,  lest  they  lose  heart"  {Col.  Ill  21).  Not 
every  person  would  think  this  one  of  the  most  important 
pieces  of  advice  to  give  his  young  societies  in  Asia 
Minor.  But,  according  to  our  conjecture,  Paul  had 
good  cause  to  know  the  harm  that  parents  may  do  by 


Sec.  2.  Patirs  Family .  37 

not  reasonably  considering  their  children's  desires  and 
beliefs.  At  the  same  time  he  strongly  emphasises  in 
the  same  passages  the  duty  of  children  to  obey  their 
parents,  and  sets  this  before  the  duty  of  parents  to 
their  children.  That  also  is  characteristic  of  one  who 
had  been  blameless  as  touching  all  the  commandments 
{Phil.  Ill  6),  and  who  therefore  must  have  gone  to 
the  fullest  extreme  in  compliance  with  his  father's 
orders  before  he  announced  that  he  could  comply  no 
further. 

3.  PERSONALITY.  While  Luke  is  very  sparing  of 
personal  details,  he  gives  us  some  few  hints  about 
Paul's  physical  characteristics  as  bearing  on  his  moral 
influence.  As  an  orator,  he  evidently  used  a  good  deal 
of  gesture  with  his  hands  ;  for  example,  he  enforced  a 
point  to  the  Ephesian  Elders  by  showing  them  "  these 
hands "  (XX  34).  When  he  addressed  the  audience  at 
Pisidian  Antioch,  or  the  excited  throng  of  Jews  in 
Jerusalem,  he  beckoned  with  the  hand  ;  when  he  ad- 
dressed Agrippa  and  the  distinguished  audience  in  the 
Roman  governor's  hall,  he  "  stretched  forth  his  hand ". 
This  was  evidently  a  characteristic  and  hardly  conscious 
feature  of  his  more  impassioned  oratory ;  but,  when  more 
quiet  and  simple  address  was  suitable  (as  in  the 
opening  of  his  speech  to  the  Ephesian  Elders,  before 
the  emotion  was  wrought  up),  or  when  a  purely 
argumentative  and  restrained  style  was  more  likely  to 
be  effective  (as  in  addressing  the  critical  and  cold 
Athenian  audience,  or  the  Roman  procurator's  court), 
no  gesture  is  mentioned.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the 
extreme  excitement  at  Lystra  he  "rent  his  garments"; 
and  in  the  iailor's  critical  situation,  XVI  28,  Paul  called 


38  The  Origin  of  St.  Paul.  Chap.  II. 

out  with  a  loud  voice.  Wherever  any  little  fact  is 
mentioned  by  Luke,  we  can  always  observe  some 
special  force  in  it,  and  such  details  must  have  had  real 
importance,  when  an  author  so  brief  and  so  impersonal 
as  Luke  mentions  them  ;  and  they  are  very  rare  in  him. 
Alexander  tried  to  obtain  a  hearing  from  the  Ephesian 
mob  by  such  a  gesture  ;  and  the  din,  as  they  howled 
like  a  lot  of  dervishes,  is  set  before  us  strongly  by  the 
fact  that  speaking  was  impossible  and  gesture  alone 
could  be  perceived.  Peter,  when  he  appeared  to  his 
astonished  friends  in  Mary's  house  after  his  escape, 
beckoned  to  them  to  make  no  noise  that  might  attract 
attention  and  betray  his  presence.  Otherwise  such 
gestures  are  mentioned  only  where  the  hand  is  stretched 
out  to  aid  or  to  heal  or  to  receive  help. 

Two  of  the  most  remarkable  instances  of  Paul's  power 
over  others  are  prefaced  by  the  statement  that  Paul 
"fixed  his  eyes  on"  the  man  (XIII  9,  XIV  9,  cp. 
XXIII  i);  and  this  suggests  that  his  fixed,  steady 
gaze  was  a  marked  feature  in  his  personality,  and  one 
source  of  his  influence  over  them  that  were  brought 
into  relations  with  him.  Luke  frequently  notes  this 
trait.  Peter  tells  that  he  fixed  his  gaze  on  the  heavenly 
vision,  XI  6  ;  and  he  fixed  his  eyes  on  the  lame  man, 
III  4.  Stephen  turned  his  fixed  gaze  towards  heaven, 
and  saw  it  open  to  disclose  the  vision  of  glory  to  him. 
In  these  cases  the  power  of  the  eye  is  strongly  brought 
out.  The  same  trait  is  alluded  to  where  intense  astonish- 
ment or  admiration  is  involved,  as  when  the  bystanders 
gazed  at  Peter  and  John  after  they  had  healed  the  lame 
man,  or  Stephen's  auditors  stared  on  him  as  they  saw 
his    face    suffused    with    glory,    or    the    disciples    gazed 


Sec.  3.  His  Personality.  39 

upwards  as  Jesus  was  taken  away  from  them,  or 
Cornelius  stared  at  the  Angel.  In  the  Third  Gospel, 
IV  20,  the  stare  of  the  congregation  in  Nazareth  at 
Jesus,  when  He  first  spoke  in  the  synagogue  after  His 
baptism,  suggests  that  a  new  glory  and  a  new  conscious- 
ness of  power  in  Him  were  perceived  by  them.  The 
power  which  looks  from  the  eyes  of  an  inspired  person 
attracts  and  compels  a  corresponding  fixed  gaze  on  the 
part  of  them  that  are  brought  under  his  influence  ;  and 
this  adds  much  probability  to  the  Bezan  reading  in 
III  3,  where  the  fixed  gaze  of  the  lame  man  on  Peter 
seems  to  rouse  the  power  that  was  latent  in  him.  The 
Greek  word  {arevi^eiv)  is  almost  peculiar  to  Luke,  and 
occurs  chiefly  in  Acts.  Elsewhere  in  N.T.  it  is  used 
only  by  Paul  in  II  Cor.  Ill  7,  13  ;  and  it  has  often 
seemed  to  me  as  if  there  were  more  of  Lukan  feeling 
and  character  in  II  Cor.  than  in  any  other  of  Paul's 
letters.  A  consideration  of  these  passages  must  con- 
vince every  one  that  the  action  implied  by  the  word 
(arevi^eiv)  is  inconsistent  with  weakness  of  vision  :  in 
fact,  Paul  says  that  the  Jews  could  not  gaze  fixedly  on 
the  glory  of  Moses'  face,  implying  that  their  eyes  were 
not  strong  enough.  The  theory  which  makes  Paul  a 
permanent  sufferer  in  his  eyes,  unable  to  see  distinctly 
persons  quite  near  him,  and  repulsive  to  strangers  on 
account  of  their  hideous  state  {Gal.  IV  13  f),  is  hopelessly 
at  variance  with  the  evidence  of  Luke.  In  that  word,  as 
he  uses  it,  the  soul  looks  through  the  eyes. 

The  word  twice  occurs  in  the  Third  Gospel,  once  in  a 
passage  peculiar  to  Luke,  and  once  when  the  servant- 
maid  stared  at  Peter  and  recognised  him,  where  her 
fixed  gaze  is  not  mentioned  by   Matthew  or  Mark. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  CHURCH  IN  ANTIOCH. 

r.  THE  GENTILES  IN  THE  CHURCH.  (XI  Ip)  THEY 
THEN  THAT  WERE  SCATTERED  THROUGH  THE  TRIBULA- 
TION THAT  AROSE  ON  ACCOUNT  OF  STEPHEN  TRAVELLED 
(z>.,  made  missionary  journeys)  AS  FAR  AS  PHGENICE  AND 
CYPRUS  AND  ANTIOCH,  SPEAKING  THE  WORD  TO  JEWS 
AND  NONE  SAVE  JEWS.  (20)  BUT  THERE  WERE  SOME  OF 
THEM,  MEN  OF  CYPRUS  AND  CYRENE,  WHO  WHEN  THEY 
WERE  COME  TO  ANTIOCH,  USED  TO  SPEAK  TO  GREEKS 
ALSO,  GIVING  THE  GOOD  NEWS  OF  THE  LORD  JESUS.  (2l) 
AND  THE  HAND  OF  THE  LORD  WAS  WITH  THEM,  AND  A 
GREAT  NUMBER  THAT  BELIEVED  TURNED  UNTO  THE 
LORD. 

When  Acts  was  written,  the  Church  of  Antioch  was  only 
about  fifty  years  old,  but  already  its  beginning  seems  to 
have  been  lost  in  obscurity.  It  had  not  been  founded,  it 
had  grown  by  unrecorded  and  almost  unobserved  stpps. 
In  the  dispersion  of  the  primitive  Church  at  Jerusalem, 
during  the  troubles  ensuing  on  the  bold  action  of  Stephen, 
certain  Cypriote  and  Cyrenaic  Jews,  who  had  been  brought 
up  in  Greek  lands  and  had  wider  outlook  on  the  world 
than  the  Palestinian  Jews,  came  to  Antioch.  There  they 
made  the  innovation  of  addressing  not  merely  Jews  but 
also  Greeks.   We  may  understand  here  ( i )  that  the  words  used 

(40) 


Sec.  I.  The  Gentiles  in  the  Church.  41 

imply  successful  preaching  and  the  admission  of  Greeks 
to  the  Christian  congregation,  and  (2)  that  such  an  innova- 
tion took  place  by  slow  degrees,  and  began  in  the  synagogue, 
where  Greek  proselytes  heard  the  word.  The  Cypriote  and 
Cyrenaic  Jews  began  pointedly  to  include  these  Greeks  of 
the  synagogue  in  their  invitations,  and  thus  a  mixed  body 
of  Jews  and  Greeks  constituted  the  primitive  congregation 
of  Antioch ;  but  the  Greeks  had  entered  through  the  door 
of  the  synagogue  (see  pp.  62,  85,  156). 

In  verses  19-21  the  narrative  for  the  moment  goes  back  to 
a  time  earlier  than  X  and  XI  1-18,  and  starts  a  new  thread 
of  history  from  the  death  of  Stephen  (VII  60).  That  event 
was  a  critical  one  in  the  history  of  the  Church.  The 
primitive  Church  had  clung  to  Jerusalem,  and  lived  there 
in  a  state  of  simplicity  and  almost  community  of  goods, 
which  was  an  interesting  phase  of  society,  but  was  quite 
opposed  to  the  spirit  in  which  Jesus  had  said,  "  Go  ye  into 
all  the  world  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  the  whole  creation". 
For  the  time  it  seemed  that  the  religion  of  Christ  was 
stagnating  into  a  sociological  experiment.  Stephen's 
vigour  provoked  a  persecution,  which  dispersed  itinerant 
missionaries  over  Judsea  and  Samaria  (VI 1 1  1-4),  first  among 
whom  was  Philip  the  colleague  of  Stephen.  New  congrega- 
tions of  Christians  were  formed  in  many  towns  (VIII  14,  25, 
40,  IX  31,  32,  35, 42,  X  44) ;  and  it  became  necessary  that,  if 
these  were  to  be  kept  in  relation  with  the  central  body  in 
Jerusalem,  journeys  of  survey  should  be  made  by  delegates 
from  Jerusalem.  The  first  of  these  journeys  was  made  by 
Peter  and  John,  who  were  sent  to  Samaria,  when  the  news 
that  a  congregation  had  been  formed  there  by  Philip 
reached  Jerusalem  (VIII  14).  This  may  be  taken  as  a 
specimen  of  many  similar  journeys,  one  of  which  is  recorded 


42  TJie  Church  in  A^ttioch.  Chap.  III. 

(IX  32  f.)  on  account  of  the  important  development  that 
took  place  in  its  course.  It  appears  from  Acts  that  Peter 
was  the  leading  spirit  in  these  journeys  of  organisation, 
which  knit  together  the  scattered  congregations  in  Judaea 
and  Samaria.  Hence  the  first  great  question  in  the  de- 
velopment of  the  Church  was  presented  to  him,  viz.,  whether 
Hebrew  birth  was  a  necessary  condition  for  entrance  into 
the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah  and  membership  of  the 
Christian  Church.  That  question  must  necessarily  be  soon 
forced  on  the  growing  Church ;  for  proselytes  were  not  rare, 
and  the  Christian  doctrine,  which  was  preached  in  the 
synagogues,  reached  them.  It  was  difficult  to  find  any 
justification  for  making  the  door  of  the  Church  narrower 
than  the  door  of  the  synagogue,  and  there  is  no  record 
that  any  one  explicitly  advocated  the  view  that  Christianity 
should  be  confined  to  the  chosen  people,  though  the  con- 
dition and  regulations  on  which  non-Jews  should  be  admitted 
formed  the  subject  of  keen  controversy  in  the  following  years. 

According  to  Acts,  this  great  question  was  first  presented 
definitely  to  Peter  in  the  case  of  a  Roman  centurion 
named  Cornelius  ;  and  a  vision,  which  had  appeared  to 
him  immediately  before  the  question  emerged,  determined 
him  to  enter  the  house  and  the  society  of  Cornelius,  and 
set  forth  to  him  the  good  news,  on  the  principle  that  "  in 
every  nation  he  that  feareth  God  and  worketh  righteous- 
ness is  acceptable  to  Him  "  (X  35).  Peter's  action  was 
immediately  confirmed  by  the  communication  of  Divine 
grace  to  the  audience  in  Cornelius's  house  ;  and,  though  it 
was  at  first  disputed  in  Jerusalem,  yet  Peter's  defence  was 
approved  of  by  general  consent. 

But  this  step,  though  an  important  one,  was  only  the 
first  stage  in  a  long  advance  that  was  still  to   be  made. 


Sec.  I.  The  Gentiles  in  the  Church.  43 

Cornelius  was  a  proselyte  ;  and  Peter  in  his  speech  to  the 
assembly  in  his  house  laid  it  down  as  a  condition  of 
reception  into  the  Church  that  the  non-Jew  must  approach 
by  way  of  the  synagogue  (X  35),  and  become  ^^  one  that 
fears  God". 

Without  entering  on  the  details  of  a  matter  which  has 
been  and  still  is  under  discussion,  we  must  here  allude  to 
the  regulations  imposed  on  strangers  who  wished  to  enter 
into  relations  with  the  Jews.  Besides  the  proselytes  who 
came  under  the  full  Law  and  entered  the  community  of 
Moses,  there  was  another  class  of  persons  who  wished 
only  to  enter  into  partial  relations  with  the  Jews.  These 
two  classes  were  at  a  later  time  distinguished  as  ^^ Proselytes  of 
the  Sanctuary"  and  "of  the  Gate" ;  but  in  Acts  the  second 
class  is  always  described  as  "they  that  fear  God''}  The 
God-fearing  proselytes  were  bound  to  observe  certain 
ceremonial  regulations  of  purity  in  order  to  be  permitted 
to  come  into  any  relations  with  the  Jews ;  and  it  is 
probable  that  these  rules  were  the  four  prohibitions 
enumerated  in  XV  28,  to  abstain  from  the  flesh  of  animals 
sacrificed  to  idols,  and  from  blood,  and  from  animals 
strangled,  and  from  marriage  within  the  prohibited  degrees 
(many  of  which  were  not  prohibited  by  Greek  or  Roman 
law).  These  prohibitions  stand  in  close  relation  to  the 
principles  laid  down  in  Leviticus  XVII,  XVIII,  for  the 
conduct  of  strangers  dwelling  among  the  Israelites ;  and 
it  would  appear  that  they  had  become  the  recognised  rule 
for  admission  to  the  synagogue  and  for  the  first  stage  of 
approximation  to  the  Jewish  communion.  They  stand  on 
a  different  plane  from  the  moral  law  of  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments, being  rules  of  purity. 

*  0O|3ov/ici/ot  or  as^ofMevot  rov  deov. 


44  The  Chiirch  in  Antioch,  Chap.  III. 

While  no  one,  probably,  urged  that  the  Clrirch  should 
be  confined  to  born  Hebrews,  there  was  a  party  in  the 
Church  which  maintained  that  those  non-Jews  who  were 
admitted  should  be  required  to  conform  to  the  entire  "  Law 
of  God  "  :  this  was  the  party  of  "  champions  of  the  circum- 
cision," ^  which  played  so  great  a  part  in  the  drama  of 
subsequent  years.  This  party  was  silenced  by  Peter's 
explanation  in  the  case  of  Cornelius,  for  the  preliminary 
vision  and  the  subsequent  gift  of  grace  could  not  be  gain- 
said. But  the  main  question  was  not  yet  definitely 
settled ;  only  an  exceptional  case  was  condoned  and 
accepted. 

The  Church  of  Antioch  then  was  in  a  somewhat 
anomalous  condition.  It  contained  a  number  of  Greeks, 
who  were  in  the  position  of  "God-fearing  proselytes,"  but 
had  not  conformed  to  the  entire  law  ;  and  the  question  was 
still  unsettled  what  was  their  status  in  the  Church. 

2.  THE  COMING  OF  BARNABAS  AND  THE  SUM- 
MONING OF  SAUL.  (XI  22)  AND  THE  REPORT  CON- 
CERNING THEM  CAME  TO  THE  EARS  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN 
JERUSALEM  ;  AND  THEY  SENT  FORTH  BARNABAS  AS  FAR 
AS  ANTIOCH  :  (23)  WHO  WHEN  HE  WAS  COME,  AND  HAD 
SEEN  THE  GRACE  OF  GOD,  WAS  GLAD  ;  AND  HE  EXHORTED 
'THEM  ALL  THAT  WITH  PURPOSE  OF  HEART  THEY  SHOULD 
CLEAVE  UNTO  THE  LORD  (24)  (FOR  HE  WAS  A  GOOD  MAN, 
AND  FULL  OF  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT  AND  OF  FAITH)  ;  AND 
MUCH  PEOPLE  WAS  ADDED  UNTO  THE  LORD.  (25)  AND 
HE  WENT  FORTH  TO  TARSUS  TO  SEEK  FOR  SAUL;  (26) 
AND  WHEN  HE  HAD  FOUND  HIM,  HE  BROUGHT  HIM  UNTO 
ANTIOCH.       AND    IT   CAME    TO    PASS   THAT   EVEN    FOR   A 

^  oi  eK  irepiTOfirjs,  XI  2,  Gal.  II  12  :  "some  of  the  sect  of  the  Phari- 
sees that  believed,"  XV  5. 


Sec.  2.  The  Coming  of  Barnabas.  45 

WHOLE  YEAR  THEY  MET  IN  THE  ASSEMBLY,  AND  TAUGHT 
MUCH  PEOPLE  ;  AND  THAT  THE  DISCIPLES  WERE  CALLED 
''CHRISTIANS"  FIRST  IN  ANTIOCH. 

As  in  previous  cases,  an  envoy  was  sent  from  the  Church 
in  Jerusalem  to  survey  this  new  congregation,  and  judge  of 
its  worthiness  ;  and  Barnabas  was  selected  for  the  purpose. 
The  same  test  that  had  been  convincing  in  the  case  of 
Cornelius  satisfied  Barnabas  in  Antioch :  he  saw  the  grace 
of  God.  Then  he  proceeded  to  exhort  and  encourage  them, 
which  he  was  qualified  to  do  because  the  Divine  Spirit 
was  in  him.  Sparing  as  Luke  is  of  words,  he  feels  bound 
to  state  that  Barnabas  was  qualified  by  grace  for  the  work 
(see  p.  174).  The  result  of  his  course  of  ministration  ^  was 
a  great  increase  to  the  congregation. 

Mindful  of  his  former  short  experience  of  Saul,  Barnabas 
bethought  himself  that  he  was  well  suited  to  the  peculiar 
circumstances  of  the  Antiochian  congregation :  and  he 
accordingly  went  to  Tarsus,  and  brought  Saul  back  with 
him  to  Antioch,  This  journey  must  apparently  have  been 
made  in  the  early  months  of  A.D.  43  ;  and  the  rest  of 
that  year  was  spent  by  the  two  friends  in  Antioch.  The 
date  shows  that  the  early  stages  of  Christian  history  in 
Antioch  were  slow.  The  congregation  must  have  grown 
insensibly,  and  no  marked  event  occurred,  until  the  attention 
of  the  Church  in  Jerusalem  was  called  to  its  existence.  The 
one  important  fact  about  it  was  that  it  came  into  existence 
in  this  peculiar  way.  But  with  the  advent  of  Barnabas  and 
Saul,  its  history  enters  on  a  new  phase.  It  became  the 
centre  of  progress  and  of  historical  interest  in  the  Church. 

It  lies  in  Luke's  style  to  give  no  reason  why  Barnabas 
summoned  Saul  to  Antioch.  This  historian  records  the 
^  TrapeKoXfi,  imperfect. 


46  The  Church  in  Antioch.  Chap.  III. 

essential  facts  as  they  occurred  ;  but  he  does  not  obtrude 
on  the  reader  his  own  private  conception  as  to  causes  or 
motives.  But  we  cannot  doubt  that  Barnabas,  who  became 
Saul's  sponsor  at  Jerusalem  (IX  27),  and  related  to  the 
Apostles  the  circumstances  of  his  conversion,  knew  that 
God  had  already  called  him  "  to  preach  Him  among  the 
Gentiles"  {Gal.  I  16),  and  recognised  that  this  congrega- 
tion of  the  Gentiles  was  the  proper  sphere  for  Saul's  work. 
We  find  in  Barnabas's  action  the  proof  of  the  correctness 
of  Paul's  contention  in  Epist.  Gal.,  that  his  aim  as  an 
Apostle  had  been  directed  from  the  first  towards  the  Gen- 
tiles ;  his  sphere  was  already  recognised. 

As  we  shall  see  later,  Paul  must  have  spent  nearly  ten 
years  at  Tarsus.  Why  are  these  ten  years  a  blank  ?  Why 
were  they  such  a  contrast  to  the  crowded  hours  of  the 
period  that  was  just  beginning?  On  our  hypothesis  as  to 
the  meaning  of  Luke's  silence,  we  conclude  that  Paul  was 
still  not  fully  conscious  of  the  full  meaning  of  his  mission  ; 
he  was  still  bound  in  the  fetters  of  Judaic  consistency,  and 
acted  as  if  the  door  of  the  synagogue  was  the  portal  through 
which  the  Nations  must  find  their  way  into  the  Church.  He 
had  not  yet  learned,  or  at  least  he  had  not  yet  so  fully 
shaken  himself  free  from  the  prejudices  of  education  and 
tradition  as  to  act  on  the  knowledge,  that  God  "had  opened 
a  door  of  faith  unto  the  nations"  (XIV  27,  p.  85). 

A  point  in  Luke's  style  here  deserves  note.  He  has 
mentioned  in  IX  30  that  Saul  was  sent  away  to  Tarsus ; 
and  he  now  takes  up  the  thread  from  that  point,  saying  that 
Barnabas  went  to  Tarsus  to  seek  for  Saul.  He  implies 
that  the  reader  must  understand  Tarsus  to  have  been  Saul's 
head-quarters  during  the  intervening  period.  Not  merely 
does    XI  25    require  one  to  look  back,  but  also   IX   30 


Sec.  2.  The  Coining  of  Barnabas.  47 

requires  one  to  look  forward  ;  each  is  the  complement  of 
the  other,  and  the  two  together  hit  off  a  long  period  during 
which  no  critical  event  had  to  be  recorded.  The  same 
period,  together  with  the  following  year  in  Antioch,  is 
described  by  Paul  himself,  Gal.  I  21,  22:  "Then  I  came 
into  the  climes  of  Syria  and  Cilicia :  and  I  continued  to  be 
unknown  by  face  to  the  churches  of  Judaea,  but  they  only 
heard  say,  *  He  that  once  persecuted  us  now  preacheth  the 
faith '  ".  Paul  and  Luke  complete  each  other,  and  make 
up  a  picture  of  over  ten  years  of  quiet  work  within  the 
range  of  the  synagogue  and  its  influence. 

The  words  of  z/.  25  seem  harsh  until  one  takes  them  as 
a  direct  backward  reference  to  IX  30,  and  as  implying  a 
statement  about  the  intervening  period.  The  Bezan  Com- 
mentator, not  catching  the  style  of  Luke,  inserts  an  ex- 
planatory clause,  "  hearing  that  Saul  is  in  Tarsus,"  which 
rounds  off  the  sense  here  by  cutting  away  the  necessity  of 
finding  in  XI  25  the  completion  of  a  period  of  history 
whose  beginning  is  recorded  in  IX  30. 

The  term  "  Christians "  attests  that  the  congregation 
became  a  familiar  subject  of  talk,  and  probably  of  gossip 
and  scandal,  in  the  city  ;  for  obviously  the  name  originated 
outside  the  brotherhood.  The  Brethren,  then,  were  talked 
of  in  popular  society  as  "they  that  are  connected  with 
Christos  " :  such  a  title  could  not  originate  with  the  Jews, 
to  whom  "  the  Christ "  was  sacred.  The  name  Christos 
therefore  must  have  been  the  most  prominent  in  the 
expressions  by  which  the  Greek  Brethren  described  or 
defined  their  faith  to  their  pagan  neighbours.  The  latter, 
doubtless,  got  no  clear  idea  of  what  this  Christos 
was  :  some  took  Christos  as  one  of  the  strange  gods 
whom  they  worshipped  (XVII    18};   others  took  him   as 


48  The  Church  in  Antioch.  Chap.  III. 

their  leader  (p.  254).  In  any  case  the  name  belongs  to 
popular  slang. 

In  accordance  with  the  tendency  of  popular  language  to 
find  some  meaning  for  strange  words,  the  strange  term 
Christos  was  vulgarly  modified  to  Chrestos,  the  Greek 
adjective  meaning  "  good,  useful,"  which  seemed  to  popular 
fancy  a  more  suitable  and  natural  name  for  a  leader  or  a 
deity.  "  Chrestians  "  was  the  form  in  which  the  name  was 
often  used ;  and  it  occurs  in  inscriptions. 

3.  THE  ANTIOCHIAN  COLLECTION  FOR  THE 
POOR  OF  JERUSALEM.  (XI  27)  AND  AT  THIS  PERIOD 
THERE  CAME  DOWN  FROM  JERUSALEM  PROPHETS  TO 
ANTIOCH.  (28)  AND  THERE  STOOD  UP  ONE  OF  THEM, 
AGABUS  BY  NAME,  AND  SIGNIFIED  BY  THE  SPIRIT  THAT 
THERE  SHOULD  BE  GREAT  FAMINE  OVER  ALL  THE  WORLD ; 
WHICH  CAME  TO  PASS  IN  THE  DAYS  OF  CLAUDIUS.  (29) 
AND  THE  DISCIPLES  ACCORDING  TO  THE  MEANS  OF  THE 
INDIVIDUAL  ARRANGED  TO  SEND  CONTRIBUTIONS  FOR 
RELIEF  TO  THE  BRETHREN  SETTLED  IN  JUD^A.  (30) 
AND  THIS  TOO  THEY  DID,  AND  DESPATCHED  the  relief 
TO  THE  ELDERS  BY  THE  HAND  OF  BARNABAS  AND  SAUL. 
(XII  25)  AND  BARNABAS  AND  SAUL  FULFILLED  THE 
MINISTRATION  OF  RELIEF,  AND  RETURNED  FROM  JERU- 
SALEM BRINGING  AS  COMPANION  JOHN  SURNAMED  MARK. 

Luke's  brief  statement  about  the  famine  is  declared  by 
Dr.  SchUrer  to  be  unhistorical,  improbable,  and  uncorro- 
borated by  other  evidence.^  Opinions  differ  widely  ;  for  the 
famine  seems  to  me  to  be  singularly  well  attested, 
considering  the  scantiness  of  evidence  for  this  period. 
Suetonius  alludes   to  assiducs  sterilitates  causing  famine- 

i  Eine  uvgescJiichtliche  Generalisirung,  and  again,  ist,  wio  an  sick 
unwahi'scheinlkh,  so  audi  nlrgcnds  bczeugt,  Jiid.  Volk  I  p.  474. 


Sec.  3.    The  A7ttiochian  Collection  for  the  Poor.       49 


prices  under  Claudius,  while  Dion  Cassius  and  Tacitus 
speak  of  two  famines  in  Rome,  and  famine  in  Rome  implied 
dearth  in  the  great  corn-growing  countries  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean ;  Eusebius  mentions  famine  in  Greece,  and  an  in- 
scription perhaps  refers  to  famine  in  Asia  Minor.^  Thus 
wide-spread  dearth  over  the  Roman  world  is  fully  attested 
independently  ;  beyond  the  Roman  world  our  evidence  does 
not  extend.  Dr.  Schiirer  seems  to  require  a  distinct  state- 
ment that  a  famine  took  place  in  the  same  year  all  over 
Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa.  But  that  is  too  hard  on  Luke, 
for  he  merely  says  that  famine  occurred  over  the  whole 
(civilised)  wodd  in  the  time  of  Claudius  :  of  course  the  year 
varied  in  different  lands. 

The  great  famine  in  Palestine  occurred  probably  in  A.D. 
46.  The  commentators  as  a  rule  endeavour,  by  straining 
Josephus,  or  by  quoting  the  authority  of  Orosius,  to  make 
out  that  the  famine  took  place  in  44,  and  even  that  it 
occasioned  the  persecution  by  Herod. 

The  eagerness  to  date  the  famine  in  44  arises  from  a 
mistake  as  to  the  meaning  and  order  of  the  narrative  of 
Acts.  Between  XI  30  and  XII  25  there  is  interposed  an 
account  of  Herod's  persecution  and  his  miserable  death, 
events  which  belong  to  the  year  44  ;  and  it  has  been 
supposed  that  Luke  conceives  these  events  as  happening 
while  Barnabas  and  Saul  were  in  Jerusalem.  But  that  is 
not  the  case.  Luke  describes  the  prophecy  of  Agabus,  and 
the  assessment  imposed  by  common  arrangement  on  the 
whole  congregation  in  proportion  to  their  individual 
resources.  Then  he  adds  that  this  arrangement  was 
carried  out  and  the  whole  sum  sent  to  Jerusalem.     The 

^  Le  Bas-Waddington  no.  1192,  Studia  Biblica  IV  p.  52  f. 
4 


50  The  Church  in  Antioch.  Chap.  III. 

process  thus  described  was  not  an  instantaneous  subscription. 
The  money  was  probably  collected  by  weekly  contributions, 
for  the  congregation  was  not  rich,  and  coin  was  not  plenti- 
ful in  Syrian  cities.  This  collection  would  take  a  consider- 
able time,  as  we  gather  both  from  the  analogy  of  the  later 
Pauline  contribution  (p.  288),  and  from  the  fact  that  the 
famine  was  still  in  the  future,  and  no  necessity  for  urgent 
haste  existed.  The  arrangements  were  made  beforehand 
in  full  reliance  on  the  prophecy  ;  but  there  is  no  reason  to 
think  that  the  money  was  used  until  the  famine  actually 
began,  and  relief  was  urgently  needed.  The  manner  of 
relief  must,  of  course,  have  been  by  purchasing  and  distri- 
buting corn,  for  it  would  have  shown  criminal  incapacity  to 
send  gold  to  a  starving  city ;  and  the  corn  would  not  be  given 
by  any  rational  person,  until  the  famine  was  at  its  height. 
When  Sir  Richard  Wallace  relieved  the  distress  in  Paris 
after  the  siege,  he  did  not  content  himself  with  telegraphing 
money  from  London,  nor  yet  with  distributing  gold  to  the 
starving  people  in  Paris.  He  brought  food  and  gave  it. 
As  he  did,  so  we  may  be  sure  did  the  Antiochian  delegates 
do  ;  and  no  rational  person  will  suppose  that  the  corn  was 
brought  to  Jerusalem  until  the  famine  was  actually  raging. 
But  in  a  land  where  transport  was  difficult,  preparations 
took  time  ;  and  Luke  states  at  the  outset  the  general 
course  of  the  preparations  which  the  Divine  revelation 
aroused. 

Thereafter,  before  describing  the  actual  distribution 
of  relief  in  Jerusalem,  the  author's  method  requires 
him  to  bring  down  the  general  narrative  of  events  in 
Jerusalem  and  Judaea  to  the  point  when  the  famine  began  ; 
and  then  at  last  he  mentions  the  actual  administering  of  the 
relief.      He,  therefore,  tells  about  the  persecution  of  Herod 


Sec.  3-    The  Antiochimi  Collectio7i  for  the  Poor.      51 

(which  took  place  near  the  time  when  Agabus  prophesied), 
and  about  Herod's  death  ;  and  then  at  last  he  mentions 
the  execution  of  the  Antiochian  design  and  the  return  of 
the  delegates  to  their  own  city. 

As  thus  interpreted,  Luke's  chronology  harmonises 
admirably  with  Josephus.  Agabus  came  to  Antioch  in  the 
winter  of  43-44  ;  and  in  the  early  part  of  44  Herod's 
persecution  occurred,  followed  by  his  death,  probably  in 
the  autumn.  In  45  the  harvest  was  probably  not  good,  and 
provisions  grew  scarce  in  the  country  ;  then,  when  the 
harvest  of  46  failed,  famine  set  in,  and  relief  was  urgently 
required,  and  was  administered  by  Barnabas  and  Saul.  It 
is  an  interesting  coincidence  that  relief  was  given  liberally 
in  Jerusalem  by  Queen  Helena  (mother  of  Izates,  King  of 
Adiabene),  who  bought  corn  in  Egypt  and  figs  in  Cyprus, 
and  brought  them  to  Jerusalem  for  distribution.  She  came  to 
Jerusalem  in  45,  and  her  visit  lasted  through  the  season  of 
famine  ;  she  had  a  palace  in  Jerusalem.  The  way  in  which 
she  imparted  relief  to  the  starving  people  illustrates  the 
work  that  Barnabas  and  Saul  had  to  perform. 

The  service  in  Jerusalem  must  have  occupied  Barnabas 
and  Saul  for  a  considerable  time.  They  acted  as  adminis- 
trators (BiaKovoi)  of  the  relief;  and  it  becomes  evident  how 
much  is  implied  in  the  words  of  XI  29,  XII  25  from  the 
comparison  of  VI  i  "  the  daily  ministration  "  of  food  to  the 
poor.  The  same  term  {BtaKovia)  that  is  used  in  these  cases 
is  applied  (with  tov  \6yov  understood)  to  the  steady  con- 
stant work  of  a  missionary  or  an  apostle,  XX  24,  XXI  19, 
I  17,  25,  VI  4.  The  Antiochian  delegates  did  not  merely 
act  as  carriers  of  money  ;  they  stayed  in  Jerusalem  through 
the  famine  and  acted  as  providers  and  distributors,  using 
all  the  opportunity  of  encouraging  and  comforting  the  dis- 


52  The  Church  in  Antioch.  Chap.  III. 

tressed  that  was  thus  afforded.  In  this  way  Saul's  second 
visit  to  Jerusalem  was  an  important  moment  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Church,  and  is  related  as  such  by  Luke  :  it 
united  far-distant  parts  of  the  Church  at  a  great  crisis ;  it 
gave  to  the  poor  in  Jerusalem  the  sense  of  brotherhood 
with  the  Antiochian  brethren,  and  to  the  Antiochian  con- 
gregation that  consciousness  of  native  life  and  power  which 
comes  only  from  noble  work  nobly  done.  But  for  this 
end  it  was  necessary  that  the  work  should  be  done  from 
first  to  last  by  the  Antiochian  congregation,  and  that  every 
starving  disciple  in  Jerusalem  should  realise  that  he  owed 
his  relief  to  his  brethren  at  Antioch.  Great  part  of  the 
effect  would  have  been  lost,  if  the  delegates  had  merely 
handed  a  sum  of  money  to  the  leaders  in  Jerusalem  to  dis- 
tribute ;  and  the  author,  who  is  so  sparing  of  words,  does 
not  fail  to  assure  us  that  the  two  delegates  "  completed  the 
ministration  "  before  they  returned  to  Antioch. 

It  must  be  noticed  that  only  the  Elders  at  Jerusalem  are 
here  mentioned,  whereas  in  XV  Paul  and  Barnabas  were 
sent  to  the  Apostles  and  Elders.  The  marked  difference 
may  probably  be  connected  with  the  author's  conception  of 
the  appropriate  duties  of  each.  In  XV,  when  a  matter  of 
conduct  and  principle  was  in  question,  the  Apostles  were 
primarily  concerned  ;  but  when  it  was  a  matter  of  the  dis- 
tribution of  food,  the  Apostles  were  not  concerned,  for  it  was 
right  that  they  should  not  "  serve  tables,"  but  "  continue  in 
the  ministry  of  the  word  "  (VI  2-4).  It  would  have  been 
quite  natural  to  say  that  the  contributions  were  sent  to  the 
congregation,  or  to  the  Brethren,  in  Jerusalem  ;  and  it  is 
apparent  that  here  the  Elders  represent  the  congregation  of 
Jerusalem  as  directors  of  its  practical  working,  while  in  XV 
the  Apostles  and  Elders  represent  the  Church  in  every  aspect. 


Sec.  3.   The  Antiochian  Collection  for  the  Poor.       53 

The  omission  of  the  Apostles  in  XI  29  is  commonly  ex- 
plained on  other  grounds,  not  very  honourable  to  them. 
Even  Lightfoot  says:  "the  storm  of  persecution  had  broken 
over  the  Church  of  Jerusalem.  One  leading  Apostle  had 
been  put  to  death  ;  another,  rescued  by  a  miracle,  had  fled  for 
his  life.  It  is  probable  that  every  Christian  of  rank  had  re- 
tired from  the  city.  No  mention  is  made  of  the  Twelve ; 
the  salutations  of  the  Gentile  Apostles  are  received  by  '  the 
Elders '.  They  arrived  charged  with  alms  for  the  relief  of 
the  poor  brethren  of  Jerusalem.  Having  deposited  these 
in  trustworthy  hands,  they  would  depart  with  all  convenient 
speed."  But  Luke  expressly  says  that  the  administration 
of  the  relief  was  performed  in  detail  by  the  two  Antiochian 
delegates  (XII  25)  ;  and  one  can  only  marvel  that  Light 
foot  ever  stooped  to  the  idea  that  they  sneaked  into 
the  city  and  sneaked  out  hastily  again,  leaving  the  poor 
without  a  single  "  Christian  of  rank  "  to  minister  to  them. 
Nor  is  there  any  good  reason  to  think  that  the  Apostles 
all  fled  from  Jerusalem,  and  left  the  disciples  to  look  after 
themselves.  It  was  not  men  like  that  who  carried  Christi- 
anity over  the  empire  within  a  few  years.  Such  an  act  of 
cowardice  should  not  be  attributed  to  the  Apostles  without 
distinct  evidence ;  and  here  the  evidence  tells  in  the  opposite 
direction  :  (i)  at  the  far  more  serious  persecution  following 
the  death  of  Stephen,  "  all  were  scattered  abroad  except  the 
Apostles  "  (VIII  i) :  (2)  it  is  implied  that  "  James  and  the 
Brethren"  were  in  Jerusalem,  when  Peter  escaped  from 
prison  and  retired  (XII  17) ;  and  immediately  after,  Herod 
went  away  and  the  persecution  was  at  an  end.  The  author 
oi  Acts  evidently  had  the  impression  that  the  guidance  of 
affairs  rested  with  the  Apostles  in  Jerusalem ;  and  they  are 
conceived  by  him  as  being  there  permanently,  except  when 
absent  on  a  special  mission. 


54  The  Church  in  Ajitioch.  Chap.  III. 

It  is  not  mere  accidental  collocation,  that  immediately 
on  the  return  of  Barnabas  and  Saul  comes  the  record  of 
the  flourishing  state  of  the  Church  in  Antioch,  with  its 
band  of  prophets  and  teachers  (XIII  i) :  the  result  of 
their  noble  work  in  Jerusalem  was  apparent  in  the  fuller 
and  more  perfect  manifestation  of  Divine  power  and 
grace  to  the  Church  in  Antioch. 

Further,  when  Paul  had  founded  a  group  of  new  churches 
in  the  four  provinces,  Galatia,  Asia,  Macedonia,  Achaia,  he, 
as  the  crowning  act  of  organisation,  instituted  a  general 
collection  among  them  for  the  poor  at  Jerusalem  ;  and 
arranged  that  representatives  should  go  up  along  with 
himself  to  Jerusalem  bearing  the  money.  His  object  was 
both  to  strengthen  the  separate  congregations  by  good 
work,  and  to  strengthen  the  whole  Church  by  bringing  its 
scattered  parts  into  personal  relations  of  service  and  help. 
We  cannot  doubt  that  it  was  his  experience  of  the  im- 
mense effect  produced  by  the  first  Divinely  ordered  con- 
tribution which  led  Paul  to  attach  such  importance  and 
devote  so  much  trouble  to  the  organisation  of  the  second 
general  contribution  ;  and  he  uses  the  same  word  to 
indicate  the  management  of  the  second  fund  that  Luke 
uses  of  the  first  {BiuKoveiv,  II  Cor,  VIII  19).^ 

The  preceding  notes  have  shown  how  much  is  contained 
in  the  brief  record  of  Luke  :  all  the  main  points  in  the 
execution  of  the  scheme  of  relief  are  touched  in  the  few 
words  XI  29,  30,  XII  25.  But  we  are  not  reduced  to  this 
single  account  of  the  mission  to  Jerusalem.  Paul,  in  writing 
to  the  Galatians,  also  mentions  it ;  his  reason  for  alluding 
to  it  lay  in  certain  incidental  and  unessential  facts  that 
occurred  at  Jerusalem  ;  but  he  tells  enough  to  show  what 

1  See  Mr.  Kendall's  admirable  paper  in  Expositor,  Nov.,  1893. 


Sec.  3.    The  Antiockian  Collection  for  the  Poor.       55 

was  the  primary  object  of  the  visit.  In  describing  his 
intercourse  with  the  older  Apostles,  he  mentions  his  second 
visit  to  Jerusalem  in  the  following  terms  (I  expand  the 
concise  language  of  Paul  to  bring  out  the  close-packed 
meaning)  : — 

{Gal.  II  I)  THEN  IN  THE  FOURTEENTH  YEAR  after  it 
■pleased  God  to  call  me,  I  WENT  UP  AGAIN  TO  JERUSALEM 
WITH  BARNABAS,  AND  TOOK  TITUS  ALSO  AS  COMPANION. 
(2)  NOW  /  may  explain  that  I  WENT  UP  ON  ACCOUNT  OF  A 
REVELATION  {which  shows  how  completely  my  action  was 
directly  guided  by  the  Divine  will,  and  how  independent  it 
was  of  any  orders  or  instructions  from  the  Apostles).  AND 
I  COMMUNICATED  TO  THEM  WITH  A  VIEW  TO  CONSULTA- 
TION THE  GOSPEL  WHICH  I  CONTINUE  PREACHING  AMONG 
THE  GENTILES,  BUT  /  did  SO  PRIVATELY  TO  THOSE  WHO 
WERE  RECOGNISED  AS  THE  LEADING  SPIRITS,  not  publicly 
to  the  whole  body  of  Apostles ;  si^ice  the  latter  course  would 
have  had  the  appearance  of  consulting  the  official  governing 
body,  as  if  I  felt  it  a  duty  to  seek  advice  from  them  ;  whereas 
private  consultation  was  a  purely  voluntary  act.  MY  PUR- 
POSE IN  THIS  CONSULTATION  WAS  TO  CARRY  WITH  ME 
THE  LEADING  SPIRITS  OF  THE  CHURCH,  SINCE  MISUNDER- 
STANDING OR  WANT  OF  COMPLETE  APPROVAL  ON  THEIR 
PART  MIGHT  ENDANGER  OR  FRUSTRATE  MY  EVANGELISTIC 
WORK  WHETHER  IN  THE  FUTURE  OR  THE  PAST,  if  doubt 
or  dispute  arose  as  to  the  rights  of  my  converts  to  full  member- 
ship in  the  Church  without  further  ceremony.  (3)  NOW,  as 
I  have  touched  on  this  point,  I  may  mention  parenthetically 
that  NOT  EVEN  WAS  MY  COMPANION  TITUS,  GREEK  AS 
HE  WAS,  REQUIRED  TO  SUBMIT  TO  CIRCUMCISION,  much 
less  was  the  general  principle  laid  down  that  the  fewish  riti 
was  a  necessary  preliminary  to  the  full  membership  of  the 


The  Church  in  Antioch.  Chap.  III. 


Church.  (4)  FURTHER,  THE  OCCASION  of  my  consulting  the 
leading  Apostles  WAS  BECAUSE  OF  CERTAIN  INSINUAT- 
ING FALSE  BRETHREN,  WHO  ALSO  CREPT  INTO  OUR 
SOCIETY  IN  AN  UNAVOWED  WAY  TO  ACT  THE  SPY  ON 
OUR  FREEDOM  (WHICH  WE  FREE  CHRISTIANS  CON- 
TINUE ENJOYING  THROUGHOUT  MY  MINISTRY),  IN 
ORDER  TO  MAKE  US  SLAVES  to  the  ritual  which  they 
count  necessary.  (5)  BUT  NOT  FOR  AN  HOUR  DID  WE 
YIELD  TO  THESE  FALSE  BRETHREN  BY  COMPLYING 
WITH  THEIR  IDEAS,  OR  EXPRESSING  AGREEMENT  WITH 
THEM  ;  AND  OUR  FIRMNESS  THEN  WAS  INTENDED  TO 
SECURE  THAT  THE  GOSPEL  IN  ITS  TRUE  FORM  SHOULD 
CONTINUE  IN  LASTING  FREEDOM  FOR  YOU  to  enjoy. 
(6)  BUT  FROM  THE  RECOGNISED  LEADERS — HOW  DIS- 
TINGUISHED SOEVER  WAS  THEIR  CHARACTER  IS  NOT 
NOW  THE  POINT  ;  GOD  ACCEPTETH  NOT  MAN'S  PERSON 
— THE  RECOGNISED  LEADERS,  I  SAY,  IMPARTED  NO  NEW 
INSTRUCTION  TO  ME  ;  (7)  BUT,  ON  THE  CONTRARY, 
PERCEIVING  THAT  I  THROUGHOUT  MY  MINISTRY  AM 
CHARGED  SPECIALLY  WITH  THE  MISSION  TO  FOREIGN 
(NON-JEWISH)  NATIONS  AS  PETER  IS  WITH  THE  JEWISH 
MISSION — (8)  FOR  HE  THAT  WORKED  FOR  PETER  TO 
THE  APOSTOLATE  OF  THE  CIRCUMCISION  WORKED  ALSO 
FOR  ME  TO  BE  THE  MISSIONARY  TO  THE  GENTILES — 
(9)  AND  PERCEIVING  from  the  actual  facts  THE  GRACE 
THAT  HAD  BEEN  GIVEN  ME,  THEY,  JAMES  AND  CEPHAS 
AND  JOHN,  THE  RECOGNISED  PILLARS  OF  THE  CHURCH, 
GAVE  PLEDGES  TO  ME  AND  TO  BARNABAS  OF  A  JOINT 
SCHEME  OF  WORK,  OURS  TO  BE  DIRECTED  TO  THE 
GENTILES,  WHILE  THEIRS  WAS  TO  THE  JEWS.  (lO) 
ONE  CHARGE  ALONE  THEY  GAVE  US,  TO  REMEMBER 
THE  POOR  brethren  at  ferusalem,  A  DUTY  WHICH   AS   A 


Sec.  3.    The  Antiochian  Collection  for  the  Poor.       57 

MATTER  OF  FACT  I  at  that  time  MADE  IT  MY  SPECIAL 
OBJECT   TO   PERFORM. 

As  is  pointed  out  elsewhere  in  full  detail,  the  concluding 
sentence  defines  the  object  which  Paul  carried  out  in 
Jerusalem :  other  events  were  incidental.  This  journey, 
therefore,  is  declared  in  Epist.  Gal.  to  have  been  made 
*'  according  to  revelation,"  and  in  Acts  the  exact  circum- 
stances of  the  revelation  are  narrated ;  the  object  of  the 
visit  is  described  in  Acts  as  being  to  relieve  the  distress  of 
the  poor  brethren  in  Jerusalem,  and  in  Epist.  Gal.  Paul  says 
he  directed  his  attention  specially  to  helping  the  poor 
brethren ;  another  purpose  is  said  in  Epist.  Gal.  to  have 
been  achieved  on  this  journey,  v.  3,  but  Paul  immediately 
adds  that  this  other  purpose  was  carried  out  as  a  mere 
private  piece  of  business,  and  implies  thereby  that  it  was 
not  the  primary  or  official  purpose  of  the  journey. 

How  graceful  and  delicate  is  the  compliment  which  the 
older  Apostles  paid  to  Paul  1  "  the  only  advice  and  instruc- 
tion which  we  have  to  give  is  that  you  continue  to  do  what 
you  have  been  zealously  doing,"  so  they  spoke  at  the  con- 
clusion of  his  visit.  And  in  what  a  gentlemanly  spirit 
does  Paul  refer  to  that  visit !  His  object  is  to  prove  to 
the  Galatians  that,  on  his  visits  to  Jerusalem,  he  received 
nothing  in  the  way  of  instruction  or  commission  from  the 
older  Apostles  ;  and  to  do  this  he  gives  an  account  of  his 
visits.  When  he  comes  to  the  second  visit  he  might  have 
said  in  the  tone  of  downright  and  rather  coarse  candour, 
"  So  far  from  ,);eceiving  on  this  occasion,  I  was  sent  by 
Divine  revelation  to  be  the  giver ".  But  not  even  in  this 
hot  and  hasty  letter  does  he  swerve  from  his  tone  of  respect 
and  admiration,  or  assume  in  the  slightest  de2"ree  a  tone  of 
superiority  to  Peter  and  James.     The  facts  are  all  there  to 


58  The  C/itirck  in  Antioch.  Chap.  III. 

show  the  real  situation  ;  but  they  are  put  so  quietly  and 
allusively  (the  revelation  in  verse  2,  the  object  in  verse  10),  as 
to  avoid  all  appearance  of  boasting  in  what  was  really  a  very 
legitimate  cause  of  satisfaction,  and  even  of  self-gratulation. 
It  is  precisely  because  on  his  second  visit  Paul  was  so 
obviously  not  the  recipient,  that  he  appeals  to  it  with  such 
perfect  confidence  as  proving  his  independence. 

Here  as  everywhere  we  find  that  Acts  supplements  and 
explains  the  incidents  and  arguments  used  by  Paul  in  his 
letter.  And  we  see  that  the  influence  which  we  have  just 
ascribed  to  the  visit  in  promoting  the  unity  and  solidarity 
of  the  whole  Church  is  fully  confirmed  by  Paul  in  verse  9 ;  it 
resulted  in  a  formal  recognition  by  the  older  Apostles  of 
the  co-ordinate  Apostolate  of  the  two  Antiochian  delegates. 

The  same  party  in  the  Church  which  had  criticised  Peter's 
conduct  to  Cornelius,  was  discontented  with  the  conduct  of 
Barnabas  and  Saul  to  their  companion,  Titus  ;  but  in  the 
circumstances  their  discontent  did  not  take  public  action, 
though  it  was  so  apparent  as  to  put  Saul  on  his  guard,  and 
once  more  they  seem  to  have  acquiesced  in  an  exceptional 
case,  as  they  did  in  that  of  Cornelius.  But  it  was  now  be- 
coming evident  that  two  distinct  and  opposed  opinions 
existed  in  the  Church,  and  were  likely  to  come  to  open 
conflict ;  and  Saul  privately  satisfied  himself  that  the  leaders 
were  in  agreement  with  himself  on  the  subject  of  difference. 

But  why  is  Acts  silent  about  this  ?  Simply  because  it 
never  came  to  an  open  discussion,  and  therefore  did  not 
reach  the  proper  level  of  importance.  Luke  confines  him- 
self to  the  great  steps  in  development.  Nor  is  it  strange 
that  Titus  is  not  mentioned  by  Luke.  In  carrying  the 
relief  to  Jerusalem,  it  is  obvious  that  Barnabas  and  Saul 
must  have  had  assistants.     The  work  was  one  of  consider- 


Sec.  3.   The  Antiochian  Collection  for  the  Poor.       59 

able  magnitude,  and  involved  a  good  deal  of  organisation. 
We  may  gather  from  Luke  that  the  two  envoys  were 
entrusted  with  the  management  ;  but  the  whole  details 
of  purchase,  transport,  and  distribution  lie  outside  of  his 
conception  and  plan.  The  essential  fact  for  his  purpose 
was  that  relief  was  sent  by  the  congregation  in  Antioch 
(XI  30),  and  its  distribution  personally  carried  out  by  Paul 
and  Barnabas  in  Jerusalem  (XII  25)  ;  and  he  tells  us  no 
more.  In  his  letter  Paul  says  that  Titus  was  a  privately 
selected  associate  and  not  an  official  ;  and  we  may 
confidently  add  that  he  was  one  of  the  assistants  who  were 
needed  to  carry  out  the  work  described  in  Acts  (see  also 
p.  170). 

The  only  strange  fact  in  reference  to  Titus,  is  that  he 
nowhere  appears  in  Acts ;  and  that  is  equally  hard  to 
explain  on  every  theory.  Clearly  he  played  a  considerable 
part  in  the  early  history  of  the  Church  (as  Luke  himself  did)  ; 
and,  on  our  hypothesis  of  Luke's  historical  insight  and 
power  of  selecting  and  grouping  details,  the  complete 
omission  of  Titus's  name  must  be  intentional,  just  as  the 
silence  about  Luke  is  intentional.  A  suggestion  to  explain 
the  omission  is  made  on  p.  390. 

The  situation  on  this  visit  is  strikingly  different  from  that 
described  in  Acts  XV  as  existing  at  the  next  visit  (see  Chap. 
VII).  Paul  has  here  private  communications  with  the  three 
leading  Apostles  in  prudent  preparation  against  future  diffi- 
culties. In  the  later  stage,  public  meetings  to  hear  the 
recital  of  his  and  Barnabas's  experiences  among  the 
Gentiles  are  followed  by  a  formal  Council,  in  which  "  the 
leading  Apostles  stand  forth  as  the  champions  of  Gentile 
liberty  ". 

We  find  ourselves  obliged  to  regard  this  visit  as  more 


6o  The  Chui^ch  in  Antioch.  Chap.  III. 

important  than  is  generally  believed.  Canon  Farrar,  who 
may  be  quoted  as  a  clear  and  sensible  exponent  of  the 
accepted  view,  calls  it  "  so  purely  an  episode  in  the  work 
of  St.  Paul,  that  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians  he  passes 
it  over  without  a  single  allusion  ".  According  to  our  view, 
if  it  had  been  a  mere  episode  without  influence  on  the 
development  of  the  Church,  Luke  would  have  passed  it 
unmentioned  ;  but  it  was  a  step  of  great  consequence  in  the 
development  of  the  Antiochian  congregation  and  of  the 
Church  as  a  whole  ;  and  therefore  it  required  a  place  in 
this  history. 

The  wonderful  revelation  described  by  Paul  himself  in 
his  second  letter  to  the  Corinthians  XII  2-4  took  place 
in  the  fourteenth  year  before  A.D.  56,  when  that  letter 
was  written  ;  and  therefore  probably  occurred  in  43  or  44. 
This  brings  us  near  the  period  when  Agabus  came  to 
Antioch ;  but  all  speculation  is  barred  by  the  description  : 
he  "  heard  unspeakable  words  which  it  is  not  lawful  for 
man  to  utter".  Another  revelation,  however,  can  with 
certainty  be  ascribed  to  this  visit,  and,  specially,  to  its 
concluding  days. 

4.  THE  RETURN  FROM  JERUSALEM  TO  ANTIOCH. 
(XXII  17)  WHEN  I  HAD  RETURNED  TO  JERUSALEM, 
AND  WHILE  I  PRAYED  IN  THE  TEMPLE,  I  FELL  INTO 
A  TRANCE,  (18)  AND  SAW  HIM  SAYING  UNTO  ME, 
"  MAKE  HASTE,  AND  GET  THEE  QUICKLY  OUT  OF 
JERUSALEM;  BECAUSE  THEY  WILL  NOT  RECEIVE  OF 
THEE  TESTIMONY  CONCERNING  ME".  (19)  AND  I  SAID, 
"  LORD,  THEY  THEMSELVES  KNOW  THAT  I  IMPRISONED 
AND  BEAT  IN  EVERY  SYNAGOGUE  THEM  THAT  BE- 
LIEVED ON  THEE  :  (20)  AND  WHEN  THE  BLOOD  OF 
STEPHEN      THY     WITNESS     WAS      SHED,      I      ALSO      WAS 


Sec.  4.    The  Return  from  Jerusalem  to  Afttiock.      61 

STANDING  BY,  AND  CONSENTING,  AND  KEEPING  THE 
GARMENTS  OF  THEM  THAT  SLEW  HIM  {and  therefore 
they  must  see  that  some  great  thing  has  happened  to  con- 
vince me)".  (21)  AND  HE  SAID  UNTO  ME,  "DEPART: 
FOR  I  WILL  SEND  THEE  FORTH  FAR  HENCE  UNTO  THE 
NATIONS  ". 

Let  us  clearly  conceive  the  probable  situation  at 
that  time.  In  the  famine-stricken  city  it  is  not  to  be 
supposed  that  Barnabas  and  Saul  confined  their  relief  to 
professing  Christians,  and  let  all  who  were  not  Christians 
starve.  Christian  feeling,  ordinary  humanity,  and  policy 
(in  the  last  respect  Paul  was  as  little  likely  to  err  as  in 
the  others),  alike  forbade  an  absolute  distinction.  The 
Antiochian  delegates  must  have  had  many  opportunities 
of  aiding  their  Jewish  brethren,  though  they  addressed 
their  work  specially  to  their  Brethren  in  the  Church  ; 
and  the  result  must  have  been  that  they  occupied  a 
position  of  peculiar  advantage  for  the  time,  not  merely 
in  the  Church  (where  the  respect  and  honour  paid  them 
shines  through  Gal.  II  i-io),  but  also  in  the  city  as  a 
whole.  Now  it  was  part  of  Paul's  missionary  method 
not  to  insist  where  there  was  no  opening,  and  not  to 
draw  back  where  the  door  was  open.  It  might  well 
seem  that  the  remarkable  circumstances  of  his  mission 
to  Jerusalem,  the  revelation  by  which  it  was  ordered, 
and  the  advantage  it  secured  to  him  in  the  city,  were 
the  opening  of  a  door  through  which  he  might  power- 
fully influence  his  own  people.  The  thought  could  not 
fail  to  occur  to  Paul  ;  and  the  remarkable  incident  de- 
scribed in  XXII   17-21  shows  that  it  was  in  his  mind. 

This  incident  is  usually  assigned  to  the  first  visit  which 
Paul  paid  to  Jerusalem  after  his  conversion.      But  he  does 


Ir- 


62  The  Church  m  Antioch.  Chap.  III. 


not  say  or  even  imply  that  it  was  his  first  visit ;  and  v^^e 
must  be  guided  by  the  suitability  of  the  circumstances 
mentioned  to  the  facts  recorded  about  the  various  visits. 
Now  Luke  gives  a  totally  different  reason  for  his  departure 
from  Jerusalem  at  the  first  visit :  he  attributes  it  to  the 
prudence  of  the  Brethren,  who  learned  that  a  conspiracy 
was  made  to  slay  him,  and  wished  both  to  save  him  and  to 
avoid  the  general  danger  that  would  arise  for  all,  if  perse- 
cution broke  out  against  one.      The  revelation  of  XXII 
1 8,   to   which    Paul    attributes    his    departure,   suits    the 
first  visit  very  badly ;  but  such  discrepancy  does  not  count 
for    much   with   the    modern    interpreters,  orthodox    and 
"  critical "  alike,  who,  having  achieved  the  feat  of  identi- 
fying the  second  visit  of  Gal.  II  i-io  with  the  third  visit 
of  Luke  XV  (pp.  59,  154  f),  have  naturally  ceased  to  ex- 
pect agreement  between  Luke  and  Paul  on  such  matters. 
Accordingly,   Lightfoot   actually   quotes   the   discrepancy 
between  XXII   18  f.  and    IX  29  f.  to  illustrate   and  de- 
fend the  discrepancy  between  Gal.  II  2  and  Acts  XV  4. 
Again,  the  reasoning   of  XXII  20,  21,  is  not  suitable 
to  the  first  visit.       Paul  argues  that  circumstances  make 
him    a    peculiarly    telling    witness    to    the    Jews    of  the 
power  of  Jesus :   and  the   reply  is  that   Jesus   will   send 
him  far  hence  to  the  Nations.       Now,  the  first  visit  was 
followed,  not  by  an  appeal  to  the  Nations,  but  by  many 
years  of  quiet  uneventful    work  in    Cilicia   and   Antioch, 
within   the   circle  of    the   synagogue    and    its    influence. 
But  this  revelation  points  to  the  immediate  "  opening  of 
a  door  of  belief  to  the  Nations";   and  that  did  not  take 
place    until    Paul    went    to    Paphos    and    South    Galatia 
(XIV  27,  pp.  41,  85). 

To   place   this  revelation    on    the   first  visit   leads    to 


Sec.  4.    The  Return  from  Jerusalem  to  Antioch.       62, 

hopeless  embarrassment,  and  to  one  of  those  discrepancies 
which  the  orthodox  historians,  Hke  Lightfoot,  labour  to 
minimise,  while  the  critical  historians  naturally  and 
fairly  argue  that  such  discrepancies  prove  Acts  to  be 
not  the  work  of  Paul's  pupil  and  friend,  but  a  work 
of  later  origin.  On  this  point  I  can  only  refer  to  what 
is  said  on  p.  1 5  ;  on  the  principle  there  laid  down,  we 
cannot  connect  XXII   17  f.  with  IX  28  f. 

On  the  other  hand  this  revelation  suits  excellently 
the  state  of  matters  which  we  have  just  described  at 
the  conclusion  of  the  second  visit.  Paul  was  tempted 
by  the  favourable  opportunity  in  Jerusalem  ;  and  his 
personal  desire  always  turned  strongly  towards  his  Jewish 
brethren  {Rom.  IX  1-5).  He  prayed  in  the  temple  :  he 
saw  Jesus  :  he  pleaded  with  Jesus,  representing  his 
fitness  for  this  work :  and  he  was  ordered  to  depart  at 
once,  "  for  I  will  send  thee  forth  far  hence  to  the 
Nations ".  Thereupon  he  returned  to  Antioch  ;  and  in 
a  few  days  or  weeks  a  new  revelation  to  the  Antiochian 
officials  sent  him  on  his  mission  to  the  West,  and  opened 
the  door  of  belief  to  the  Nations. 

One  objection  to  this  view  is  likely  to  be  made.  Many 
infer  from  XXII  18  that  the  visit  was  short.  But  there 
is  no  implication  as  to  the  duration  of  the  visit.  The 
words  merely  show  that  Paul  was  thinking  of  a  longer 
stay,  when  the  vision  bade  him  hasten  away  forthwith. 
The  second  visit,  according  to  Lightfoot's  supposition, 
was  even  shorter  than  the  first,  but  on  our  view  it  began 
when  the  failure  of  harvest  in  46  turned  scarcity  into 
famine,  and  it  probably  lasted  until  the  beginning  of  47. 

Our  reference  of  XXII  17  to  the  second  visit  is 
corroborated    by    the    reading   of    the    two    great    uncial 


64  The  Church  in  Antioch.         Chap.  III. 

MSS.  in  XII  25,  "  returned  to  Jerusalem  " :  this  seems 
to  be  an  alteration  made  deliberately  by  an  editor,  who, 
because  these  passages  referred  to  the  same  visit, 
tampered  with  the  text  of  XII  25  to  bring  it  into 
verbal  conformity  with   XXII    17. 

5.  THE  MISSION  OF  BARNABAS  AND  SAUL. 
(XIII  l)  NOW  THERE  WAS  AT  ANTIOCH,  CONNECTED  WITH 
"THE  CHURCH,"  1  A  BODY  OF  PROPHETS  AND  TEACHERS, 
BARNABAS,  SYMEON  (SURNAMED  NIGER),  AND  LUCIUS 
(HE  OF  CYRENE),  WITH  MANAEN  (FOSTER-BROTHER  OF 
HEROD  THE  TETRARCH)  AND  SAUL.  (2)  AS  THESE  WERE 
LEADING  A  LIFE  OF  RELIGIOUS  DUTIES  AND  FASTS,  THE 
HOLY  SPIRIT  SAID,  "  SEPARATE  ME  BARNABAS  AND  SAUL 
FOR  THE  WORK  WHEREUNTO  I  HAVE  CALLED  THEM  ".  (3) 
THEN  THEY  {i.e.,  the  Church)  HELD  A  SPECIAL  FAST, 
AND  PRAYED,  AND  LAID  THEIR  HANDS  UPON  THEM,  AND 
GAVE  THEM  LEAVE  TO  DEPART. 

A  new  stage  in  the  development  of  the  Antiochian 
Church  is  here  marked.  It  was  no  longer  a  mere  "con- 
gregation "  ;  it  was  now  "  the  Church  "  in  Antioch  ;  and 
there  was  in  it  a  group  of  prophets  and  teachers  to  whom 
the  grace  of  God  was  given. 

There  is  indubitably  a  certain  feeling  that  a  new  start  is 
made  at  this  point ;  but  it  is  only  through  blindness  to  the 
style  of  a  great  historian  that  some  commentators  take 
this  as  the  beginning  of  a  new  document.  The  subject 
demanded  here  a  fresh  start,  for  a  great  step  in  the 
development  of  the  early  Church  was  about  to  be 
narrated,  "  the  opening  of  a  door  to  the  Gentiles " 
(XIV  27).  The  author  emphasised  this  step  beyond  all 
others,  because  he  was  himself  a  Gentile  ;  and  the  develop- 
^  Prof.  Armitage  Robinson,  quoted  in  Church  in  R.  E.,  p.  52. 


Sec.  5.     The  Mission  of  Barnabas  and  Saul.         65 

ment  of  the  Church  through  the  extension  of  Christian 
influence  was  the  guiding  idea  of  his  historical  work. 

Probably  the  variation  between  the  connecting  particles 
(/cat  and  re)  marks  a  distinction  between  three  prophets, 
Barnabas,  Symeon  and  Lucius,  and  two  teachers,  Manaen 
and  Saul.  In  Acts  VI  5,  the  list  of  seven  deacons  is  given 
without  any  such  variation ;  and  it  seems  a  fair  inference 
that  the  variation  here  is  intentional.^  The  distinction 
between  the  qualifications  required  in  prophets  and  in 
teachers  is  emphasised  by  Paul  in  I  Cor.  XII  28.  As  re- 
gards Barnabas  and  Saul  their  difference  in  gifts  and  quali- 
fications appears  clearly  in  other  places.  Everywhere  Saul 
is  the  preacher  and  teacher,  Barnabas  is  the  senior  and 
for  a  time  the  leader  on  that  account. 

There  is  a  marked  distinction  between  the  general  rule  of 
life  in  z;.  2,  and  the  single  special  ceremony  in  v.  3,  An 
appreciable  lapse  of  time  is  implied  mv.  2-.  after  the  two 
envoys  returned  from  Jerusalem,  the  regular  course  of  Church 
life  went  on  for  a  time ;  and,  so  long  as  everything  was 
normal,  the  historian  finds  nothing  to  relate.  The  prophets 
and  teachers  had  regular  duties  to  which  their  energies  were 
devoted ;  and  they  practised  in  their  life  a  certain  regular 
rule  of  fasting.  They  were  not  like  the  Elders,  who  were 
chosen  as  representative  members  of  the  congregation  ;  they 
were  marked  out  by  the  Divine  grace  as  fitted  for  religious 
duties  in  the  congregation.  The  "  work  "  in  v.  2  is  defined 
in  the  subsequent  narrative  (XIII  41,  XIV  26,  XV  3,  38, 
etc.)  as  preaching  the  Gospel  in  new  regions  outside  of  the 
province  Syria  and  Cilicia,  in  which  there  already  existed 
Christian  communities. 

What  is  the  subject  in  z;.   3  ?      It   cannot  be  the  five 

^Compare  Mr.  Page's  note  on  the  grouping  of  the  list  in  I  13. 

5 


66  The  Church  i7i  Antioch.  Chap.  Ill- 

officials  just  mentioned,  because  they  cannot  be  said  to 
lay  their  hands  on  two  of  themselves.  Evidently  some 
awkward  change  of  subject  takes  place  ;  and  the  simplest 
interpretation  is  that  the  Church  as  a  whole  held  a  special 
service  for  this  solemn  purpose.  Codex  BezcB  makes  all 
clear  by  inserting  the  nominative  "  all "  (Traj/re?)  ;  and  on 
our  view  this  well-chosen  addition  gives  the  interpreta- 
tion that  was  placed  in  the  second  century  on  a  harsh 
and  obscure  passage.  Similarly  in  XV  2  it  is  meant 
that  the  congregation  appointed  the  delegates  to  Jerusalem ; 
and  the  reader  is  expected  to  supply  the  nominative, 
though  it  has  not  occurred  in  the  immediately  preceding 
sentence.  It  seemed  to  the  author  so  obvious  that  such 
action  was  performed  by  universal  consent,  that  he  did 
not  feel  any  need  to  express  the  nominative.  Such  a  way 
of  thinking  was  possible  only  at  a  very  early  time.  Dur- 
ing the  second  century  (if  not  even  erarlier)  the  action  of 
■officials  began  to  supersede  that  of  the  whole  congregation 
in  such  matters  ;  and,  when  even  a  beginning  had  been 
made,  it  could  no  longer  be  assumed  as  self-evident  that 
such  actions  as  XIII  3,  XV  2,  were  performed  by  the 
congregation  ;  and  the  writer  would  necessarily  express 
the  nominative.  The  Bezan  Reviser  belonged  to  the 
period  when  the  change  had  begun  and  the  need  of  ex- 
pressing the  nominative  was  felt ;  but  he  lived  before  the 
time  when  official  action  had  regularly  superseded  that  of 
the  congregation,  for  in  that  case  he  would  have  taken  the 
officials  in  this  case  to  be  the  agents  (as  many  modern 
commentators  understand  the  passage). 

What  was  the  effect  of  the  public  ceremony  described  in 
z/.  3?  The  high  authority  of  Lightfoot  answers  that  it 
constituted  Barnabas  and  Saul  as  Apostles.     He  acknow- 


Sec.  5.     The  Mission  of  Barnabas  and  Saul.  67 

ledges  that  Saul's  "  conversion  may  indeed  be  said  in  some 
sense  to  have  been  his  call  to  the  Apostleship.  But  the 
actual  investiture,  the  completion  of  his  call,  took  place 
some  years  later  at  Antioch  {Acts  XIII  2)."  He  considers 
that  Barnabas  and  Saul  were  only  prophets  before  this, 
and  did  not  become  Apostles  until  they  were  elevated  to 
that  rank  by  their  "  consecration  to  the  ofifice "  at  Antioch 
{Ed.  Galat.  p.  96). 

Our  view,  on  the  contrary,  is  that  Barnabas  and  Saul 
were  Apostles  before  this.  The  Apostle  was  always  ap- 
pointed by  God  and  not  by  the  Church.  The  proof  of 
Apostleship  lay  in  the  possession  of  apostolic  message  and 
powers,  conversion  of  others  and  performance  of  signs. 
It  is  an  historical  anachronism  to  attribute  to  this  period 
such  belief  in  the  efficacy  of  a  Church-ceremony.  More- 
over, in  XXII  17,  21,  and  XXVI  17,  Paul  claims  to  have 
been  an  Apostle  from  his  conversion,  and  represents  his 
work  in  Cilicia  and  Syria  as  an  Apostolate.  In  Gal.  I  he 
declares  that  his  message  came  direct  from  God  at  his 
conversion.  Further,  there  is  no  sign  in  XIII  2,  3,  that  this 
"  consecration  "  by  the  Church  was  more  efficacious  than 
the  original  Divine  call  :  the  ceremony  merely  blessed 
Barnabas  and  Saul  for  a  special  work,  which  was  definitely 
completed  in  the  next  three  years.  In  XIV  26  the  work 
for  which  they  had  been  committed  to  the  grace  of  God  in 
XIII  2  is  declared  to  be  fulfilled  ;  and  they  returned  to 
their  ordinary  circle  of  duties  in  the  Church  at  Antioch. 

The  last  word  in  verse  3  should  not  be  "  sent  them  away  " 
(as  in  the  Authorised  and  Revised  Versions).  The  Spirit 
sent  them  away  (verse  4) ;  and  the  Church  released  them 
from  their  regular  duties  and  bade  them  "  God-speed  ".  The 
Greek  verb  {jlfKikvaav^  like  the  Latin  diniittere)  is  used  of 


68  The  Church  in  Antioch.  Chap.  III. 

the  superior  giving  his  visitor  leave  to  depart  (for  a  visitor 
in  the  East  is  considered  to  be  paying  his  respects,  and 
does  not  presume  to  depart  without  formal  permission  to 
go),  or  of  a  host  allowing  his  guests  to  depart,  or  of  a  com- 
manding officer  giving  soldiers  honourable  dismissal  after 
their  term  of  service.  The  correct  rendering  of  this  term 
will  prove  important  at  a  later  stage  (p.  155). 

Note.  Date  of  the  famine.  Orosius  VII  6  puts  it  in 
the  fourth  year  of  Claudius,  which  began  January  25,  A.D. 
44.  But  Orosius's  dates  at  this  point  are  put  one  year  too 
early  owing  to  a  mistake  in  adapting  to  Claudius's  years  a 
series  of  events  arranged  in  his  authority  according  to  a 
different  system  of  chronology ;  this  kind  of  mistake  is 
known  to  have  been  frequently  made  by  ancient  chroniclers, 
and  is  proved  in  Orosius's  case  by  the  fact  that  he  assigns 
to  the  tenth  year  of  Claudius  a  famine  at  Rome  which 
Tacitus  A7in.  XII  43  places  in  A.D.  51.  We  therefore  take 
Orosius  as  an  authority  for  dating  the  commencement  of 
the  famine  in  45.  Josephus  mentions  the  famine  as  having 
occurred  while  Tiberius  Alexander  was  procurator  of  Judaea; 
and  there  is  general  agreement  that  Alexander's  adminis- 
tration lasted  from  46  to  48  :  though  the  time  when  it 
began  was  not  absolutely  certain,  July  45  is  the  earliest 
admissible  date,  and  46  is  far  more  probable :  his  pre- 
decessor Cuspius  Fadus  was  sent  by  Claudius  in  44,  and 
a  good  deal  occurred  during  his  office.  But  Josephus  also 
mentions  the  famine  in  connection  with  Queen  Helena's 
arrival  in  45.  Helena,  however,  seems  to  have  remained 
a  considerable  time,  and  Josephus's  words  are  in  perfect 
accord  with  our  view  that  scarcity  began  with  a  bad  harvest 
in  45. 


Note.  Date  of  the  Famine.  69 


In  the  preceding  chapter,  Lightfoot's  view  is  quoted 
according  to  his  edition  of  Gal,  where  he  says  that 
Barnabas  and  Saul  had  come  to  Jerusalem  and  returned 
to  Antioch  before  Herod's  death.  Since  the  chapter  was 
in  type,  I  notice  that  in  a  posthumous  essay  "printed 
from  lecture  notes "  he  dates  the  famine  45 ;  but  that 
seems  hardly  consistent  with  his  edition,  and  as  he  re- 
published his  edition  without  change  throughout  his  life, 
it  must  represent  his  mature  opinion.  Perhaps  he  means 
that  Paul  and  Barnabas  brought  the  famine-money  to 
Jerusalem  a  year  or  more  before  the  famine  began,  which 
we  cannot  accept  as  a  natural  or  a  useful  procedure. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  MISSIONARY  JOURNEY  OF  BARNABAS  AND  SAUL. 

1.  CYPRUS  AND  SALAMIS.  (XIII  4)  THEY  ACCORD- 
INGLY, BEING  SENT  FORTH  BY  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT,  CAME 
DOWN  TO  the  harbour  SELEUCEIA,  AND  THENCE  SAILED 
AWAY  TO  CYPRUS  ;  (5)  AND  WHEN  THEY  REACHED 
SALAMIS  THEY  BEGAN  TO  PROCLAIM  THE  WORD  OF  GOD 
IN  THE  SYNAGOGUES  OF  THE  JEWS  ;  AND  THEY  HAD 
JOHN  ALSO  AS  A  SUBORDINATE.  (6)  AND  THEY  MADE  A 
missionary  PROGRESS  THROUGH  THE  WHOLE  ISLAND 
UNTIL  they  reached  PAIHOS. 

The  harbour  is  mentioned,  according  to  Luke's  common 
custom  (XIV  25,  XVIII  18,  XVI  11).  When  he  has 
once  mentioned  the  harbour  of  any  city,  he  omits  it  on  a 
subsequent  occasion  (cp.  XX  6  with  XVI  ii\  The 
failure  to  name  the  harbour  of  Beroea  is  remarkable 
(XVII  14)  ;  doubtless  there  is  some  reason  for  it. 

As  they  were  able  to  make  the  harbour  of  Salamis,  on 
the  south  coast,  they  were  not  impeded  by  westerly  winds, 
which  commonly  blew  throughout  the  summer  (see  p.  298). 
With  such  winds,  they  would  have  run  for  the  Cilician 
coast,  and  worked  along  it  westward  with  the  aid  of  land- 
breezes  and  the  current  (p.  299),  till  they  could  run  across 
to  the  north  coast  of  Cyprus,  j:s  Barnabas  had  to  do  on  his 
next  journey  (if  the  Periodot  Barriabcs  can  be  trusted).    But 

(70) 


Sec.  I.  Cyprus  and  Salamis.  71 

they  probably  started  on  the  opening  of  the  sailing  season 
(March  5). 

John  Mark  is  brought  before  the  reader's  notice  here  in 
a  curiously  incidental  way.  He  came  with  Barnabas  and 
Saul  from  Antioch  (see  XII  25);  why  should  he  not  be 
mentioned  at  the  outset  ?  A  superficial  view  might  see 
want  of  method  in  this  apparently  haphazard  reference  to 
the  third  traveller.  But  surely  the  object  is  to  emphasise 
the  secondary  character  of  John  Mark,  in  view  of  what  was 
to  happen  in  Pamphylia :  he  was  not  essential  to  the 
expedition  ;  he  had  not  been  selected  by  the  Spirit ;  he 
had  not  been  formally  delegated  by  the  Church  of 
Antioch ;  he  was  an  extra  hand,  taken  by  Barnabas  and 
Saul  on  their  own  responsibility.  This  obviated  the 
criticism  that  the  delegation  consisted  of  three  persons, 
and  that  Mark's  retirement  from  Pamphylia  was  fatal  to 
the  official  and  representative  character  of  the  rest  of 
the  mission — a  criticism  which  may  probably  have  been 
actually  used  in  the  subsequent  rather  bitter  controversy 
described  in  XV.  This  might  have  been  formally  and 
expressly  set  forth  at  an  earlier  stage  ;  but  the  historian 
briefly  expresses  it  by  saying  nothing  about  John  Mark 
until  he  appears  incidentally  as  a  supernumerary  and 
subordinate.  The  silence  is  singularly  expressive,  and 
therefore  carefully  calculated. 

There  must  have  been  a  large  Jewish  colony  in  Salamis, 
with  more  synagogues  than  one.  Cypriote  Jews  are  often 
mentioned  in  Acts  (IV  36,  XI  20,  XXI  16) ;  and  Barnabas 
himself  was  a  Cypriote.  The  practice  of  Saul  always  had 
been  to  go  first  to  the  synagogues  ;  and  up  to  the  present 
time  there  is  no  reason  to  think  that  he  had  directly  ad- 
dressed the  Gentiles  except  as  hearers  \x\  the  S3-nngogue. 


72  Journey  of  Barnabas  and  Saul.    Chap.  IV. 

His  procedure  here  is  exactly  as  at  Damascus,  where  he 
proceeded  to  preach  in  the  synagogues  immediately  after 
his  conversion  (IX  20).  It  was  right  that  the  first  offer 
should  be  addressed  to  the  Jews  (XIII  46).  Moreover  he 
was  always  sure  of  a  good  opening  for  his  Gentile  mission 
among  the  "  God-fearing,"  who  formed  part  of  his  audience 
in  every  synagogue. 

In  V.  6  how  briefly  the  work  of  a  considerable  period  is 
summed  up  !  Four  Greek  words  {Bte\d6vT€<;  oXrjv  rrjv  vrjaov) 
contain  all  that  is  said  about  a  missionary  journey  through- 
out the  island.  We  understand  from  this  brevity  that  there 
was  no  important  fact  for  the  historian's  purpose.  The 
passage  is  a  typical  one :  the  same  formula  occurs  with 
slight  variations  in  many  later  parts  of  the  narrative ;  and 
in  this  first  case  its  meaning  is  specially  clear,  so  that  it 
throws  its  light  on  all  the  subsequent  examples  (which  is, 
of  course,  intended  by  the  historian).  Doubtless  the  pro- 
cess which  has  just  been  described  at  Salamis  is  intended  to 
apply  everywhere.  In  each  city  where  there  was  a  settle- 
ment of  Jews,  the  missionaries  preached  in  the  synagogue. 

Further,  the  Cypriote  Jews  were  not  unfavourable  to  the 
new  teaching.  The  influence  and  example  of  Barnabas 
were  naturally  effective  with  his  fellow-countrymen.  More- 
over, the  Word  had  already  been  preached  in  Cyprus  not 
long-  after  Stephen's  martyrdom  XI  19,  and  converts  had 
been  made.  There  was  therefore  a  small  audience  ready 
to  listen  to  the  travelling  preachers  in  several,  perhaps  in 
all,  of  the  Cyprian  cities.  Finally,  the  doctrine  that  was 
preached  was  probably  not  such  as  to  rouse  strong  feeling 
among  the  Jews  ;  and,  so  long  as  the  Gentiles  were  not 
specially  appealed  to  and  set  on  an  equality  with  the  Jews, 
the  early  Pauline  teaching  is  not  said  to  have  caused  more 
ill-will  than  the  preaching  of  the  older  Apostles, 


Sec.  I.  Cyprus  and  Salamis.  73 


But  we  may  also  probably  make  some  negative  inferences. 
There  was  no  specially  marked  effect;  no  sign  of  the  Divine 
guidance  or  power  was  manifested ;  and  the  address  was 
made  only  through  the  synagogues  and  nowhere  directly 
to  the  Gentiles.  These  are  the  points  on  which  the  his- 
torian always  lays  special  stress ;  signs  of  the  Divine  power 
were  the  guarantee  of  Paul's  Divine  mission,  and  the  steps 
by  which  Paul  turned  more  and  more  decidedly  to  the 
Gentiles  marked  the  stages  in  history  as  Luke  conceived  it. 

We  conclude,  then,  that  the  silence  observed  with  regard 
to  the  Cyprian  evangelisation  is  not  due  to  mere  ignorance 
on  the  part  of  the  historian  or  to  want  of  authorities,  but  to 
deliberate  plan.  On  the  scale  on  which  his  work  was 
planned,  and  his  incidents  selected,  there  was  nothing  more 
to  say. 

The  Apostles  are  said  to  have  made  a  preaching  tour 
through  the  whole  island.  In  a  writer  so  sparing  of  words 
as  Luke,  the  addition  of  the  word  "  whole  "  is  important. 
We  cannot  press  it  so  far  as  to  suppose  that  they  went 
through  every  place  in  the  island.  Its  force  may  probably 
be  best  seen  by  supposing  it  were  omitted  :  in  that  case  the 
Greek  (SteX^oz/re?  Tr]v  vrjaov  axpc  nd(f)ov)  would  permit  the 
interpretation  that  after  landing  at  Salamis  they  went  along 
the  direct  road  to  Paphos,  preaching  at  convenient  places. 
The  word  "whole"  is  probably  intended  to  bring  out  clearly 
that  they  made  a  complete  tour  of  the  Jewish  communities 
in  the  island,  preaching  in  each  synagogue. 

2.  PAPHOS.  (XIII  6)  AND  WHEN  THEY  HAD  GONE 
THROUGH  THE  WHOLE  ISLAND  UNTO  PAPHOS,  THEY 
FOUND  A  CERTAIN  MAN,  MAGIAN,  PROPHET  OF  LIES, 
JEW,  BY  NAME  BAR-JESUS,  (/)  WHO  WAS  IN  THE  COMPANY 
OF  THE  PROCONSUL,  SERGIUS   PAULUS,  A  MAN  OF  UNDER- 


74  Journey  of  Barnabas  and  Saul.     Chap.  IV. 

STANDING.  THE  PROCONSUL  SUMMONED  TO  HIS  PRES- 
ENCE BARNABAS  AND  SAUL,  A^T'  SOUGHT^  TO  HEAR 
THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  (8)  AND  THERE  STOOD  FORTH 
AGAINST  THEM  THE  MAGIAN,  ETOIMAS  {Son  of  the  Ready)^ 
FOR  SO  IS  THIS  NAME  TRANSLATED,  SEEKING  TO  DIVERT 
THE  PROCONSUL  FROM  THE  FAITH.  (9)  BUT  SAUL,  OTHER- 
WISE PAUL,  FILLED  WITH  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT,  LOOKED 
FIXEDLY  AT  HIM,  (lo)  AND  SAID,  "O  FULL  OF  ALL  GUILE 
AND  ALL  VILLANY,  THOU  SON  OF  THE  DEVIL,  THOU 
ENEMY  OF  ALL  RIGHTEOUSNESS,  WILT  THOU  NOT  CEASE 
TO  PERVERT  THE  RIGHT  WAYS  OF  THE  LORD  ?  (ll)  AND 
NOW,  BEHOLD  THE  HAND  OF  THE  LORD  IS  UPON  THEE, 
AND  THOU  SHALT  BE  BLIND,  NOT  SEEING  THE  SUN  FOR 
A  SEASON."  AND  IMMEDIATELY  THERE  FELL  ON  HIM  A 
MIST  AND  A  DARKNESS  ;  AND  HE  WENT  ABOUT  SEEKING 
SOME  TO  LEAD  HIM  BY  THE  HAND.  (12)  THEN  THE 
PROCONSUL,  WHEN  HE  SAW  WHAT  WAS  DONE,  BELIEVED, 
BEING  STRUCK  TO  THE  HEART  AT  THE  TEACHING  OF 
THE   LORD. 

We  notice,  first,  the  accuracy  of  the  title  proconsul,  ap- 
plied to  the  governor  of  Cyprus.  The  remarkable  incident 
that  follows  is  connected  with  a  definite  individual,  who  is 
named  and  characterised.  He  was  Sergius  Paulus,  a  man 
of  ability.^  A  Greek  inscription  of  Soloi^  on  the  north 
coast  of  Cyprus  is  dated  "  in  the  proconsulship  of  Paulus," 
who  probably  is  the  same  governor  that  played  a  part  in 
the  strange  and  interesting  scene  now  to  be  described. 

^  In  classical  Greek  the  meaning  would  be  "  put  questions  to 
them  "  ;  and  perhaps  that  is  the  sense  here. 

"^  ^weroj  (in  Attic)  "  of  practical  ability,"  cro0dj  "  cultivated  ". 

3  Found  and  made  known  by  General  Cesnola :  but  more  accurately 
and  completely  published  in  Mr.  D.  G.  Hogarth's  Devia  Cypria,  p.  114. 


Sec.  2  Paphos.  75 

The  order  and  style  of  narrative  adopted  in  this  incident 
is  noteworthy  in  itself,  and  instructive  in  regard  to  the 
author's  plan  and  his  conception  of  history.  He  directs 
the  reader's  attention  first  to  the  prominent  figure  round 
whom  the  incident  is  centred:  "in  Paphos  they  found  a  certain 
Bar-jesus  ".  Nothing  is  said  about  the  length  of  residence 
in  Paphos,  nor  about  the  conduct  of  the  missionaries  in  the 
earlier  part  of  their  visit.  Before  anything  else  is  mentioned 
about  Paphos,  Bar-jesus  is  named,  and  then  it  is  explained 
who  he  was  and  how  the  missionaries  came  in  contact  with 
him.  The  order  of  narrative  does  not  follow  the  order  of 
time,  but  is  guided  by  the  special  interest  felt  by  the 
author,  i.e.,  he  seizes  first  the  detail  or  the  personage  that 
is  most  important  in  his  eyes. 

If  we  attempt  to  follow  the  order  of  development  in  time, 
the  incident  might  be  thus  described.  The  missionaries 
came  to  Paphos.  There  they  began  preaching  in  the 
synagogues  as  they  had  done  in  other  cities.  They  soon 
acquired  notoriety  and  were  talked  about  through  the  city ; 
and  the  report  about  these  strangers  who  were  teaching  a 
new  kind  of  philosophy  reached  the  Roman  governor's  ears. 
The  governor  was  a  highly  educated  man,  interested  in 
science  and  philosophy ;  and  his  attention  was  caught  by 
the  report  of  the  two  strangers,  who  were  giving  public 
teaching  in  rhetoric  and  moral  philosophy  (p.  271). 

Travellers  of  that  class  were  well  known  at  the  time. 
Those  who  aimed  at  high  rank  and  fame  as  teachers  of 
philosophy  often  travelled  through  the  great  cities  of  the 
Empire,  giving  public  demonstrations  of  their  skill :  thus 
they  became  famous,  and  were  accepted  finally  in  some  of 
the  great  universities  as  established  teachers  and  Professors 
of  Philosophy  or  Morals. 


76  Journey  of  Barnabas  and  Saul.    Chap.  IV. 

The  governor,  Sergius  Paulus,  then  invited  or  com- 
manded— a  Roman  proconsul's  invitation  was  equivalent 
to  a  command — the  two  travellers  to  his  court,  and  sought 
to  hear  a  specimen  of  their  skill  and  a  demonstration  of 
their  philosophy  on  the  subject  which,  as  he  had  been  in- 
formed, was  their  favourite  topic,  the  nature  of  God  and 
His  action  towards  human  beings.  The  exposition  which 
they  gave  seemed  to  him  striking  and  excellent ;  and  the 
marked  effect  which  it  produced  on  him  was  apparent  to 
all  who  were  in  his  train  (who  in  Roman  language  would 
be  termed  his  comites).  Among  these  was  a  Jew,  Etoimas 
Bar-jesus  by  name,  a  man  skilled  in  the  lore  and  the  un- 
canny arts  and  strange  powers  of  the  Median  priests  or 
magi.     On  v.  6  see  p.  115. 

It  is  often  said  that  the  governor  was  "under  the  influence 
of"  the  Magian ;  implying  the  view  that  the  mind  of 
Sergius  Paulus  was  dominated  by  Bar-jesus,  but  that  the 
Roman,  deeply  impressed  by  the  way  in  which  Paul  seemed 
to  overpower  the  Magian,  recognised  the  new  master  as 
more  powerful  than  the  old,  and  thus  passed  under  the 
influence  of  a  better  teacher.  This  account  seems  to  me 
not  to  be  consistent  with  the  text,  and  to  give  a  far  too  un- 
favourable conception  of  the  governor's  character ;  while  it 
certainly  conveys  rather  a  vulgar  idea  of  the  way  in  which 
Paul's  teaching  first  affected  the  Roman  world.  According 
to  the  conception  of  Luke's  method  as  a  historian,  which 
guides  us  in  this  attempt  to  realise  the  facts,  the  words  of 
Acis  require  a  different  interpretation.  The  author,  who  is 
singularly  delicate,  concise,  and  appropriate  in  his  use  of 
language,  would  not  have  praised  Sergius  Paulus  as  "a 
man  of  understanding,"  when  describing  the  relation  in 
which  the  Magian   stood   to   him,  if  he  had  understood 


Sec.  2.  Paphos.  yy 

that  the  Roman  was  "under  the  influence  of"  the  false 
prophet.  Either  we  must  say  that  the  author  scatters 
his  words  heedlessly  on  the  page,  or  we  must  understand 
that  these  words  of  praise  coming  at  that  precise  point 
exclude  any  idea  of  weak  submission  to  the  strong 
personality  of  the  Magian.  Moreover  the  Greek  words 
express  the  simple  fact  that  the  Magian  was  one  of  the 
train  of  comites  who  always  accompanied  a  Roman 
governor.  Some  of  these  were  personal  friends  who 
came  with  him  from  Rome,  others  were  young  Romans 
of  rank  who  thus  gained  an  insight  into  administrative 
life  (which  as  yet  they  were  too  young  to  enter  on),  others 
were  in  official  attendance  on  the  governor,  and  others 
were  provincials,  men  of  letters  or  of  scientific  knowledge 
or  of  tastes  and  habits  that  rendered  them  agreeable  or 
useful  to  the  great  man. 

There  is  also  no  reason  to  think  that  the  Magian  was  an 
inmate  of  the  proconsul's  house.  The  words  do  not  imply 
that ;  and  the  facts  in  no  way  suggest  it. 

3.     THE     MAGIAN     AND     THE     APOSTLE.      To     US 

the  Roman  governor  is  the  prominent  figure  in  this 
scene  ;  and  his  attitude  towards  the  new  teaching  is  what 
interests  us  most.  But  in  the  estimation  of  Luke,  the 
Magian  is  the  most  important  character,  next  to  Paul ; 
and  therefore  the  reader's  attention  is  directed  first  upon 
him.  His  prominence  is  perhaps  due  to  different  estimate 
of  historical  importance :  ancient  views  on  this  subject 
differ  from  modern.  But  is  it  not  more  probable  that  Luke 
is  justified  in  his  view?  It  is  clear  that  the  Magian  was  here 
the  representative  of  a  system  and  a  religion  ;  and  that  his 
discomfiture  was  in  itself  a  wide-reaching  triumph.  He  is 
commonly  said  to  be  a  magician,  a  mere  "  Jewish  impostor" ; 


78  Journey  of  Ba^-nabas  and  Saul.    Ciiai'.  IV. 

and  he  is  compared  to  the  modern  gipsy  teller  of  fortunes. 
Such  comparisons,  while  having  a  certain  element  of  truth, 
are  misleading,  and  give  a  false  idea  of  the  influence  exerted 
on  the  Roman  v^^orld  by  Oriental  personages  like  this  Magian. 
The  Magian  represented  in  his  single  personality  both  the 
modern  fortune-teller  and  the  modern  man  of  science  ;  and 
he  had  a  religious  as  well  as  a  merely  superstitious  aspect  to 
the  outer  world. 

No  strict  line  could  then  be  drawn  between  lawful 
honourable  scrutinising  of  the  secret  powers  of  Nature  and 
illicit  attempts  to  pry  into  them  for  selfish  ends,  between 
science  and  magic,  between  chemistry  and  alchemy,  between 
astronomy  and  astrology.  The  two  sides  of  investigation 
passed  by  hardly  perceptible  degrees  into  one  another  :  and 
the  same  man  might  be  by  times  a  magician,  by  times  the 
forerunner  of  Newton  and  Thomson  (Lord  Kelvin).  It  was 
not  possible  in  the  infancy  of  knowledge  to  know  where  lay 
the  bounds  between  the  possible  and  the  impossible,  between 
the  search  for  the  philosopher's  stone  or  the  elixir  of  life 
and  the  investigation  of  the  properties  of  argon  or  the  laws 
of  biology.  It  was  not  possible  then  :  he  would  be  rash 
who  would  say  that  it  is  possible  now.  A  writer  may 
venture  on  many  prophecies  about  the  future  of  science  to- 
day, for  which  he  would  have  been  ridiculed  as  an  impostor 
or  a  dreamer  twenty  years  ago ;  and  doubtless  there  are 
things  he  must  not  say  now,  which  will  be  said  soon. 

It  is  certain  that  the  priests  of  some  Eastern  religions 
possessed  very  considerable  knowledge  of  the  powers  and 
processes  of  nature  ;  and  that  they  were  able  to  do  things 
that  either  were,  or  seemed  to  be,  marvellous.  Which  of 
these  alternatives  was  true  is  a  point  on  which  individual 
judgments    will    vary   widely ;    but    my   own    experience 


Sec.  3.  The  Magiaii  and  the  Apostle.  79 


makes  me  believe  that,  so  far  as  influence  over  human  or 
animal  nature  and  life  was  concerned,  their  powers  were 
wonderful.  It  is  natural  that  the  Magian's  knowledge  and 
powers  should  have  made  him  a  striking  and  interesting 
personality  ;  and  a  person  like  the  proconsul,  keenly  inter- 
ested in  nature  and  philosophy,  would  enjoy  his  society. 

The  influence  of  this  Eastern  religion — one  nature  with 
many  varieties — was  widely  spread  ;  and  it  was  inevitable 
that  the  new  religion,  which  was  strongly  opposed  to  its 
methods  of  dominating  its  votaries  and  crushing  their  per- 
sonality and  individuality,  should  often  be  brought  in  col- 
ision  with  its  teachers.  Bar-jesus  represented  the  strongest 
nfluence  on  the  human  will  that  existed  in  the  Roman 
world,  an  influence  which  must  destroy  or  be  destroyed  by 
Christianity,  if  the  latter  tried  to  conquer  the  Empire.  Herein 
lies  the  interest  of  this  strange  scene  ;  and  we  cannot  wonder 
that  to  Luke,  familiar  with  the  terrible  power  of  that  re- 
ligion, the  Magian  seemed  the  prominent  figure  round  whom 
the  action  moved. 

At  Philippi,  and  at  Ephesus  also,  collisions  took  place 
between  the  two  influences,  of  slavery  and  of  freedom  for 
the  human  mind  ;  but  neither  was  so  impressive  as  this 
at  Paphos. 

It  is  characteristic  of  the  simple  and  natural  evolution 
of  the  incidents,  that  no  calculation  of  these  great  issues 
is  represented  as  influencing  the  drama.  Human  action  is 
swayed  for  the  most  part  by  trivial  motives ;  and  the 
Magian  here  was  actuated  chiefly  by  the  fear  of  losing 
his  prominent  place  in  the  governor's  train.  His  position 
as  friend  and  associate  {amicus  and  comes  were  the 
technical  terms  to  denote  his  position)  of  the  governor 
was  an   honourable   one,  gratifying  at  once  to  ambition, 


8o  Journey  of  Barnabas  and  Saul.    Chap.  IV. 

to  vanity,  and  to  worse  passions.  In  this  position  he 
could  learn  a  great  deal  about  people  and  events.  In  the 
East  it  is  always  believed  that  the  governor's  friend  may 
influence  his  judgment  ;  and  every  suppliant,  every 
litigant,  and  every  criminal  tries  to  propitiate  or  to  bribe 
the  friend.  We  cannot  tell  in  what  proportion  the  more 
noble  and  the  baser  motives  were  mixed  in  the  Magian's 
mind  ;  but  they  all  lie  on  the  surface  of  the  situation,  and 
each  had  doubtless  some  effect  on  him.  He  saw  in  the 
new  teachers  mere  rivals  trying  to  supplant  him  ;  and 
human  nature  could  not  accept  defeat  without  a  struggle. 

Another  point  of  method  to  note  in  the  narrative  is 
that  no  reason  is  stated  for  the  Magian's  opposition.  It 
is  a  general  rule  throughout  Acts  that  facts  alone  are 
stated,  and  causes  left  to  the  reader  to  gather  from  the 
facts  :  the  author  sees  the  causes  so  clearly  that  he  does 
not  think  of  stating  them.  In  this  case  he  even  omits 
part  of  the  sequence  of  facts :  he  does  not  say  that  the 
Apostles  expounded  their  views,  but  leaves  the  reader  to 
understand  that  the  proconsul's  desire  was  obeyed  ;  and 
the  words  of  verses  8,  lo  ("  seeking  to  turn  aside  the  pro- 
consul from  the  faith,"  and  "  pervert  the  right  ways  of 
the  Lord  ")  imply  that  the  exposition  was  made.  Then 
we  may  be  certain  that  the  Magian  would  not  so  far  violate 
politeness  and  the  respect  due  to  the  proconsul  as  to 
interrupt  them,  unless  he  had  seen  that  a  marked  effect 
was  produced  on  the  governor's  mind  ;  and  he  interfered 
from  fear  that,  if  he  did  not  put  the  strangers  down  or  turn 
them  into  ridicule,  they  might  supplant  himself  in  the 
governor's  society. 

This  view  of  the  situation  lies  implicit  in  the  text ;  and 
it   is   put  explicitly  by  the   Bezan   Reviser,  who   makes 


Sec.  3.  The  Magian  and  the  Apostle.  81 

Bar-jesus  "  stand  forth  in  opposition  to  them,  seeking  to 
divert  the  proconsul  from  the  faith,  because  he  zvas 
listening  with  much  pleasure  to  them'\  If  the  added 
words  are  a  gloss,  they  are  inserted  with  great  skill  and 
judgment.  But  to  me  they  appear  to  be  an  addition, 
inserted  to  make  the  narrative  simpler  and  easier  :  the 
author,  as  usual,  left  the  reason  unstated. 

4.  SAUL,  OTHERWISE  PAUL.  The  name  Paul, 
here  applied  for  the  first  time  by  the  historian  to  the  person 
whom  he  has  hitherto  called  Saul,  has  given  rise  to  much 
discussion  and  many  theories.  We  shall  not  begin  by 
theorising  as  to  the  names  of  this  individual,  but  by 
inquiring  what  was  the  meaning  of  that  very  common 
formula,  "  Saul,  otherwise  Paul  "  (Sav\o^  6  koc  nav\o<}), 
in  the  society  of  the  Eastern  provinces  ;  and  shall  then 
apply  the  results  to  this  case. 

The  custom  which  was  thus  expressed  seems  to  have 
originated  in  the  bilingual  governments  and  countries 
of  the  later  centuries  B.C.  (or,  at  least,  to  have  become 
common  and  familiar  then).  At  that  time  Greece  had 
gone  forth  to  conquer  the  East ;  and  a  varnish  of  Greek 
culture  was  spread  over  many  non-Greek  races,  affecting 
the  richer  and  the  educated  classes  of  the  natives,  but 
hardly  reaching  the  mass  of  the  people.  Then  it  was  the 
fashion  for  every  Syrian,  or  Cilician,  or  Cappadocian,  who 
prided  himself  on  his  Greek  education  and  his  knowledge 
of  the  Greek  language,  to  bear  a  Greek  name  ;  but  at  the 
same  time  he  had  his  other  name  in  the  native  language, 
by  which  he  was  known  among  his  countrymen  in  general. 
His  two  names  were  the  alternative,  not  the  complement, 
of  each  other  ;  and  the  situation  and  surroundings  of  the 
moment,  the  rSle  which  he  was  playing  for  the  time  being, 


82  Journey  of  Barnabas  and  Saul,    Chap.  IV. 

determined  which  name  he  was  called  by.  In  a  Greek 
house  he  played  the  Greek,  and  bore  the  Greek  name  :  in 
a  company  of  natives,  he  was  the  native,  and  bore  the 
native  name.  He  did  not  require  both  to  complete  his 
legal  designation,  as  a  Roman  required  both  nonien  and 
pj'cenovien.  His  Greek  name,  taken  alone,  was  a  full  legal 
designation  in  a  Greek  court. 

This  has  an  obvious  bearing  on  the  case  of  "  Saul,  other- 
wise Paul  ".  In  the  earlier  part  of  this  book  he  has  been  a 
Jew  among  Jews  ;  and  we  have  seen  only  his  Hebrew 
name.  Nothing  has  hitherto  transpired  to  show  that  he 
was  anything  but  "  Hebrew  sprung  from  Hebrews  ".  In 
Cyprus  he  went  through  the  country  city  by  city,  synagogue 
by  synagogue  :  and  he  was  the  Jew  in  all.  But  here  he  is 
in  different  surroundings  :  he  stands  in  the  hall  of  the 
proconsul,  and  he  answers  the  questions  of  the  Roman 
official.  The  interview,  doubtless,  began,  as  all  interviews 
between  strangers  in  the  country  still  begin,  with  the 
round  of  questions  :  What  is  your  name  ?  (or  who  are  you  ?) 
Whence  come  you  ?  What  is  your  business  ?  The  type  is 
seen  in  the  question  of  the  Cyclops  to  Ulysses  {Odyssey  IX 
252)  :  "  Strangers,  who  are  ye?  Whence  sail  ye  over  the 
wet  ways  ?  On  some  trading  enterprise,  or  at  adventure 
do  ye  rove  ?  " 

To  these  questions  how  would  Saul  answer  ?  After  his 
years  of  recent  life  as  a  Jew,  filled  with  the  thought  of  a 
religion  that  originated  among  Jews,  and  was  in  his 
conception  the  perfected  form  of  Jewish  religion,  did  he 
reply :  "  My  name  is  Saul,  and  I  am  a  Jew  from  Tarsus  "  ? 
First,  let  us  see  what  he  himself  says  as  to  his  method  of 
addressing  an  audience  (I  Cor.  IX  20  f.),  "to  the  Jews  I 
made  myself  as  a  Jew  that  I  might  gain  Jews  ;  to  them 


Sec.  4.  Saul,  otherwise  Paul. 


that  are  under  the  law  as  under  the  law  (though  not  mj^self 
under  the  law)  ;  to  them  that  are  without  the  law  as  with- 
out the  law  ;  I  am  become  all  things  to  all  men  ;  and  I  do 
all  for  the  Gospel's  sake  ".  We  cannot  doubt  that  the  man 
who  wrote  so  to  the  Corinthians  replied  to  the  questions  of 
Sergius  Paulus,  by  designating  himself  as  a  Roman,  born 
at  Tarsus,  and  named  Paul.  By  a  marvellous  stroke  of 
historic  brevity,  the  author  sets  before  us  the  past  and  the 
present  in  the  simple  words  :  "  Then  Saul,  otherwise  Paul, 
fixed  his  eyes  on  him  and  said  ". 

The  double  character,  the  mixed  personality,  the  Oriental 
teacher  who  turns  out  to  be  a  freeborn  Roman,  would  have 
struck  and  arrested  the  attention  of  any  governor,  any 
person  possessed  of  insight  into  character,  any  one  who  had 
even  an  average  share  of  curiosity.  But  to  a  man  with  the 
tastes  of  Sergius  Paulus,  the  Roman  Jew  must  have  been 
doubly  interesting  ;  and  the  orator  or  the  preacher  knows 
how  much  is  gained  by  arousing  such  an  interest  at  the 
outset. 

Coming  forward  in  this  character  and  name,  Paul  was 
taking  a  momentous  step,  the  importance  of  which  was 
fully  marked  in  the  narrative.  In  the  first  place,  he  was 
taking  the  leading  place  and  guiding  the  tone  of  the  inter- 
view instead  of  being,  as  heretofore,  the  subordinate  fol- 
lowing Barnabas.  Hence  in  the  narrative  we  find  that 
Barnabas  introduced  Saul  to  the  Apostles ;  Barnabas 
brought  Saul  to  Antioch  ;  Barnabas  and  Saul  carried 
the  Antiochian  alms  to  Jerusalem  ;  Barnabas  and  Saul 
brought  back  John  Mark  with  them  from  Jerusalem ; 
Barnabas  was  first  and  Saul  last  in  the  body  of  prophets 
and  teachers  of  the  Church  at  Antioch  ;  Barnabas  and  Saul 
were  selected  by  the  Spirit ;  and   Barnabas  and  Saul  were 


84  Journey  of  Barnabas  and  Saul.     Chap.  IV. 

invited  to  the  proconsul's  presence.  But  now  Paul  took 
this  new  departure,  and  Paul  and  his  company  sailed  away 
from  Paphos  to  Pamphylia ;  Paul  and  Barnabas  addressed 
the  Gentiles  in  Antioch  ;  Paul  and  Barnabas  disputed  with 
the  Judaising  party  on  their  return  to  Syrian  Antioch  ;  and 
henceforth  the  regular  order  places  Paul  first.  There  are 
only  two  exceptions  to  this  rule,  and  these  serve  to  bring 
out  its  true  character  more  clearly. 

(i)  In  the  Council  at  Jerusalem,  and  in  the  letter  of  the 
Apostles  and  Elders,  XV  12,  25,  the  order  is  Barnabas  and 
Paul ;  but  there  we  are  among  Jews,  who  follow  the  order  of 
seniority  and  Jewish  precedence.  The  only  surprising  thing 
here  is  that  they  use  the  name  Paul,  not  the  Hebrew  Saul. 
We  can  only  infer  from  that  that  the  Greek-speaking  Jews 
generally  used  the  name  Paul  (compare  p.  169),  and 
that  the  historian's  use  of  the  name  Saul  in  the  earlier  part 
of  this  narrative  was  deliberately  chosen  to  emphasise  the 
contrast  between  Paul's  earlier  and  his  later  manner. 

(2)  In  the  episode  where  the  two  Apostles  were  wor- 
shipped at  Lystra,  Barnabas  is  named  first  as  Zeus  the 
chief  god,  and  Paul  next  as  Hermes  the  messenger.  But 
the  same  qualities  which  mark  out  Paul  to  us  as  the  leader, 
marked  him  out  to  the  populace  of  Lycaonia  as  the  agent 
and  subordinate.  The  Western  mind  regards  the  leader  as 
the  active  and  energetic  partner ;  but  the  Oriental  mind 
considers  the  leader  to  be  the  person  who  sits  still  and 
does  nothing,  while  his  subordinates  speak  and  work  for 
him.  Hence  in  the  truly  Oriental  religions  the  chief  god 
sits  apart  from  the  world,  communicating  with  it  through 
his  messenger  and  subordinate.  The  more  statuesque 
figure  of  Barnabas  was  therefore  taken  by  the  Orientals 
as   the    chief    god,   and   the   active   orator,   Paul,   as   his 


Sec.  4.  Saul,  otherwise  Paul,  85 

messenger,  communicating  his  wishes  to  men.  Inci- 
dentally, we  may  notice  both  the  diametrical  antithesis 
of  this  conception  of  the  Divine  nature  to  the  Christian 
conception,  and  also  the  absolute  negation  of  the  Oriental 
conception  in  Christ's  words  in  His  Disciples,  "  whosoever 
would  become  great  among  you  shall  be  your  minister; 
and  whosoever  would  be  first  among  you  shall  be  your 
servant "  (^Matt.  XX  26). 

How  delicate  is  the  art  which  by  simple  change  in  the 
order  of  a  recurring  pair  of  names,  and  by  the  slight  touch 
at  the  critical  moment,  "Saul,  otherwise  Paul,"  suggests 
and  reveals  this  wide-reaching  conception  in  Luke's  mind 
of  historical  development ! 

In  the  second  place,  when  Paul  came  thus  forward  under 
his  new  aspect  and  personality,  he  was  inaugurating  a  new 
policy.  He  was  appealing  direct  for  the  first  time  to  the 
Graeco-Roman  world  as  himself  a  member  of  that  world. 
This  is  put  plainly  in  XIV  27  as  the  great  innovation  and 
the  great  fact  of  the  journey :  as  soon  as  Paul  and  Barnabas 
returned  to  Syrian  Antioch,  they  made  a  report  to  the 
assembled  Church  "  of  all  things  that  God  had  done  with 
them,  and  how  He  had  opened  a  door  of  faith  unto  the 
Gentiles  ".  The  first  stage  in  the  admission  of  the  Gentiles 
to  the  Christian  Church  was  taken  long  before  this  journey. 
But  the  full  implication  of  the  Apostolate  to  the  Gentiles 
was  not  even  by  Paul  himself  realised  for  many  years. 
The  second  stage  was  achieved  on  this  journey,  and  the 
historian  fixes  the  psychological  moment  precisely  at  the 
point  where  the  Apostles  faced  the  Magian  in  the  presence 
of  the  proconsul  of  Cyprus.  Amid  the  conflict  of  the  two 
religions  before  the  Roman  governor,  Paul  stepped  forward 
in  his  character  of  citizen  of  the  Empire ;  and  his  act  was 


86  Journey  of  Barnabas  and  Saul.    Chap.  IV. 


followed  by  that  transport  of  power,  which  attested  the 
grace  that  was  given  to  the  bold  innovator,  and  the  Divine 
approval  and  confirmation  of  his  step.  On  former  occasions 
the  grace  that  was  evident  in  Antioch  confirmed  the  high 
character  of  the  Antiochian  Brotherhood  in  the  eyes  of 
Barnabas  (^Acts  XI  23),  and  the  grace  that  was  given  Paul 
had  justified  his  apostolate  in  the  eyes  of  James,  Peter  and 
John  {Gal.  II  9). 

Such  is  the  situation  in  which  we  stand  when  we  trans- 
port ourselves  in  thought  to  the  time  and  the  country 
where  the  events  took  place,  and  take  the  few  brief  words 
of  Luke  in  the  sense  which  they  bore  to  the  men  of  his 
time.  But  now  let  us  turn  from  this  picture  to  see  what  is 
made  of  the  scene  by  the  critic,  who  sits  in  his  study  and 
writes  as  if  the  men  of  this  book  were  artificial  figures  and 
not  real  human  beings.  Weizsacker,  one  of  the  most  dis- 
tinguished of  modern  German  scholars,  finds  in  this  delicacy 
of  language  nothing  but  a  sign  of  double  authorship.  The 
late  author,  he  says,  used  two  earlier  authorities,  one  of 
whom  employed  the  name  Saul,  while  the  other  designated 
the  Apostle  as  Paul,  and  by  a  mere  conjecture  he  puts  the 
change  at  this  point.  Weizsacker  emphasises  this  view  that 
the  point  was  selected  by  an  arbitrary  conjecture,  and  that 
any  other  point  might  have  been  chosen  equally  well.  It 
might  almost  seem  that,  in  a  statement  like  this,  the  learned 
professor  is  taking  his  fun  off  us,  and  is  experimenting  to 
see  how  much  the  world  will  accept  at  the  mouth  of  a 
deservedly  famous  scholar  without  rebelling. 

Mr.  Lewin  states  better  than  almost  any  other  the  force 
of  this  passage  when  he  says  :  "  The  dropping  of  the  Jewish, 
and  the  adoption  of  a  Roman  name,  was  in  harmony  with 
the  great  truth  he  was  promulgating — that  henceforth  the 


Sec.  4.  Saul^  otherwise  Paul.  87 

partition  between  Jew  and  Gentile  was  broken  down".  He 
then  asks,  "  Why  is  not  the  name  of  Paul  introduced  when 
he  first  left  Antioch  to  commence  his  travels?"  and  after 
he  has  in  a  rather  hesitating  way  suggested  some  quite  un- 
suitable occasions  as  possible  for  the  change,  he  rightly 
concludes,  "  It  occurs  more  naturally  immediately  after- 
wards when  Saul  stands  forth  by  himself  and  becomes  the 
principal  actor". 

The  marvels  described  in  Acts  concern  my  present  pur- 
pose only  in  so  far  as  they  bear  upon  the  historical  effect 
of  the  narrative.  In  themselves  they  do  not  add  to,  but  . 
detract  from  its  verisimilitude  as  history.  They  are  dif- 
ficulties ;  but  my  hope  is  to  show  first  that  the  narrative 
apart  from  them  is  stamped  as  authentic,  second  that  they 
are  an  integral  part  of  it.  To  study  and  explain  them  does 
not  belong  to  me.  Twenty  years  ago  I  found  it  easy  to 
dispose  of  them  ;  but  now-a-days  probably  not  even  the 
youngest  among  us  finds  himself  able  to  maintain  that  we 
have  mastered  the  secrets  of  nature,  and  determined  the 
limits  which  divide  the  unknown  from  the  impossible. 
That  Paul  believed  himself  to  be  the  recipient  of  direct  re- 
velations from  God,  to  be  guided  and  controlled  in  his 
plans  by  direct  interposition  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  be  en- 
abled by  the  Divine  power  to  move  the  forces  of  nature  in  a 
way  that  ordinary  men  cannot,  is  involved  in  this  narrative. 
You  must  make  up  your  own  minds  to  accept  or  to  reject 
it ;  but  you  cannot  cut  out  the  marvellous  from  the  rest,  nor 
can  you  believe  that  either  Paul  or  this  writer  was  a  mere 
victim  of  hallucinations.  To  the  men  of  that  age  only  what 
was  guaranteed  by  marvellous  accompaniments  was  true ; 
to  us  unusual  accompaniments  tend  to  disprove  truth.  The 
contrast  between  the  ages  is  himtnelweit. 


88  Journey  of  Barnabas  and  Saul.    Chap.  IV. 

The  marvellous  is  indissolubly  interwoven — ^or  gooQ\oi 
\  for  bad:4-with  this  narrative,  and  cannot  be  eliminated.  Do 
the  marvellous  adjuncts  discredit  the  rest  of  the  narrative, 
or  does  the  vividness  and  accuracy  of  the  narrative  require 
us  to  take  the  marvels  with  the  rest  and  try  to  under- 
stand them  ?  Every  one  must  answer  the  question  for 
himself. 


CHAPTER  V. 

FOUNDATION  OF  THE  CHURCHES  OF  GALATIA. 

I.  PAMPHYLIA.  (XIII  13)  AND  PAUL  AND  HIS  COM- 
PANY SET  SAIL  FROM  PAPHOS  AND  CAME  TO  PERGA 
IN  the  province  PAMPHYLIA.  AND  JOHN  DEPARTED 
FROM  THEM,  AND  RETURNED  TO  JERUSALEM  ,  (14)  BUT 
THEY  WENT  ACROSS  FROM  PERGA  AND  ARRIVED  AT 
PISIDIAN    ANTIOCH. 

The  phrase  "  Perga  of  Pamphylia  "  is  not  intended  to 
distinguish  this  Perga  from  others  (cp.  XXI  39)  :  there  was 
no  other  city  of  the  same  name.  Nor  is  it  a  mere  piece  of 
geographical  information  :  this  historian  has  no  desire  to 
teach  the  reader  geography.  The  sense  is  "  they  proceeded 
to  Pamphylia,  to  the  special  point  Perga  "  ;  and  the  intention 
is  to  define  their  next  sphere  of  work  as  being  Pamphylia, 
This  sense  would  have  naturally  been  understood  by  every 
one,  were  it  not  that  no  missionary  work  was  actually  done 
in  Pamphylia,  for  the  next  fact  mentioned  is  that  John  left 
the  party,  and  the  others  went  on  to  Pisidian  Antioch  ;  and 
the  conclusion  has  sometimes  been  drawn  hastily  that 
Pamphylia  had  never  been  contemplated  as  a  mission -field, 
and  was  merely  traversed  because  it  lay  between  Cyprus  and 
Antioch.  But  the  plain  force  of  the  words  must  be  accepted 
here,  for  it  lies  in  the  situation  that  Pamphylia  was  the 
natural  continuation  of  the  work  that  had  been  going  on, 

(89) 


90    Foundation  of  the  Chiirckes  of  Galatia.    Chap.  V. 


first  in  Syria  and  Cilicia  for  many  years,  and  next  in 
Cyprus.  They  went  to  Pamphylia  to  preach  there,  and,  as 
they  did  not  actually  preach  there,  something  must  have 
occurred  to  make  them  change  their  plan.  Further,  the 
reason  for  this  change  of  plan  must  have  been  merely  a 
temporary  one,  for  they  preached  in  Pamphylia  on  their 
return  journey. 

We  are  justified  in  connecting  with  this  change  of  plan 
the  one  fact  recorded  about  the  missionary  party  in 
Pamphylia :  John  left  them  in  circumstances  that  made 
a  deep  and  painful  impression  on  Paul,  and  remained 
rankling  in  his  mind  for  years  (XV  38).  The  historian 
places  together  in  a  marked  way  the  departure  of  John 
and  the  onward  journey  of  the  others  without  preaching 
in  Pamphylia.  Now,  as  we  have  seen,  it  does  not  lie  in 
this  historian's  manner  to  state  reasons  ;  he  rarely  says  that 
one  event  was  the  cause  of  another,  but  merely  states  the 
facts  side  by  side,  and  leaves  the  reader  to  gather  for  him- 
self the  causal  connection  between  them. 

Other  reasons,  which  need  not  be  repeated  here,  point  to 
the  same  conclusion,  that  a  change  of  plan  was  the  reason 
why  John  abandoned  the  expedition.  He  conceived  that 
the  new  "  proposal  was  a  departure  from  the  scheme  "  with 
which  they  had  been  charged,  "  carrying  their  work  into  a 
region  different  in  character  and  not  contemplated  by  the 
Church  ". 

Further,  we  observe  that  the  country  between  Perga  and 
Pisidian  Antioch  is  not  mentioned  ;  the  journey  is  not  even 
summed  up  briefly  as  the  Cyprian  journey  between 
Salamis  and  Paphos  was  described  (XIII  6):  it  is  simply 
said  that  "  they  went  across  (the  intervening  mountain 
lands  of  Taurus)  to  Antioch,"   as  in  XVIII  27  Apollos 


Sec.  t.  Pamphylia.  9^ 

"conceived  the  intention  to  go  across  (the  intervening 
.Egean  Sea)  to  Achaia".  On  our  hypothesis  that  the 
narrative  is  singularly  exact  in  expression,  and  that  the 
slightest  differences  are  significant,  we  gather  that  the 
journey  to  Antioch  was  a  mere  traversing  of  the  country 
without  preaching,  with  the  view  of  reaching  Antioch.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  is  stated  that  the  return  journey  some 
years  later  from  Antioch  to  Perga  was  a  preaching  journey, 
though  no  marked  effects  are  recorded  on  it. 

Ao-ain  it  is  a  rule  in  this  historian's  clear  and  practical 
style,  that  when  Paul  is  entering  (or  intending,  even  though 
unsuccessfully,  to  enter)  a  new  field  of  missionary  enter- 
prise, the  field  is  defined  (as  in  v.  4);  and  the  definition 
usually  takes  the  form  of  a  Roman  provincial  district.  This 
will  become  apparent  as  the  narrative  proceeds,  and  the  in- 
ferences that  can  be  drawn  from  the  form  of  definition  or 
absence  of  definition  in  each  case  will  illustrate  and  give 
precision  to  the  rule.  It  is,  I  believe,  a  fair  inference  from 
the  want  of  any  indication  of  a  wider  sphere  that  when  the 
travellers  went  to  Pisidian  Antioch,  they  had  not  in  mind  a 
wider  field  of  work  than  the  city  :  they  went  to  Pisidian 
Antioch  and  not  to  the  province  Galatia,  in  which  it  was 
included. 

The  name  is  rightly  given  as  Pisidian  Antioch  in  the 
great  MSS.  ;  the  form  "Antioch  of  Pisidia"  is  a  corrup- 
tion. Besides  other  reasons,  Antioch  was  not  considered 
by  Luke  to  be  in  Pisidia  (p.  124). 

The  facts,  then,  which  can  be  gathered  from  the  narrative 
o{  Acts  are  these.  Paul  and  his  companions  came  to  Perga 
with  the  view  of  evangelising  the  next  country  on  their 
route,  a  country  similar  in  character  to  and  closely  con- 
nected in  commerce  and  racial  type  with  Cyprus  and  Syria 


92     Foundation  of  the  Churches  of  Galatia.    Chap.  V. 

and  Cilicia.  For  some  reason  the  plan  was  altered,  and 
they  passed  rapidly  over  the  Pamphylian  lowlands  and  the 
Pisidian  mountain-lands  to  Antioch,  postponing  the  evan- 
gelisation of  these  districts  till  a  later  stage  of  their  journey. 
They  went  to  Antioch  for  some  reason  which  concerned 
only  that  city,  and  did  not  contemplate  as  their  object  the 
evangelisation  of  the  province  to  which  it  belonged.  John, 
however,  refused  to  participate  in  the  changed  programme, 
presumably  because  he  disapproved  of  it.  His  refusal  seems 
to  have  been  felt  as  a  personal  slight  by  Paul,  which 
suggests  that  the  change  of  plan  was  in  some  way  caused  by 
Paul.  What  then  was  the  reason?  Is  any  clue  to  it  given 
in  any  other  part  of  Acts  or  in  the  words  of  Paul  himself.? 

In  passing  from  Perga  to  Pisidian  Antioch,  the  travellers 
passed  from  the  Roman  province  Pamphylia  to  the  Roman 
province  Galatia,  and  the  rest  of  their  journey  lay  in  Galatia 
until  they  returned  to  Perga.  Now,  we  possess  a  letter 
written  by  Paul  to  the  Churches  of  Galatia,  in  which  he 
says :  "  Ye  know  that  it  was  by  reason  of  physical  infirmity 
that  I  preached  the  Gospel  unto  you  on  the  first-of-my-two- 
visits ;  and  the  facts  of  my  bodily  constitution  which  were 
trying  to  you  were  not  despised  nor  rejected  by  you,  but  ye 
received  me  as  a  messenger  of  God  ".  We  learn,  then,  from 
Paul  himself  that  an  illness  (we  may  confidently  say  a  serious 
illness)  was  the  occasion  of  his  having  originally  preached 
to  the  churches  of  Galatia.  The  words  do  not  necessarily 
imply  that  the  illness  began  in  Galatia  ;  they  are  quite  con- 
sistent with  the  interpretation  that  the  illness  was  the 
reason  why  he  came  to  be  in  Galatia  and  had  the  oppor- 
tunity of  preaching  there ;  but  they  imply  that  the  physi- 
cal infirmity  lasted  for  some  considerable  time,  and  was 
apparent  to  strangers,  while  he  was  in  Galatia. 


Sec.  I.  Pamphylia.  93 

Here  we  have  a  reason,  stated  by  Paul  himself,  which 
fully  explains  all  the  curious  phenomena  of  the  text  of 
Acts.  Paul  had  a  serious  illness  in  Pamphylia,  and  on 
that  account  he  left  Perga  and  went  to  Antioch.  It  is 
unnecessary  to  repeat  the  argument  that  this  is  in  perfect 
agreement  with  the  known  facts.  Any  constitutional 
weakness  was  liable  to  be  brought  out  by  "  the  sudden 
plunge  into  the  enervating  atmosphere  of  Pamphylia " 
after  the  fatigue  and  hardship  of  a  journey  on  foot  through 
Cyprus,  accompanied  by  the  constant  excitement  of 
missionary  work,  culminating  in  the  intense  nervous  strain 
of  the  supreme  effort  at  Paphos.  The  natural  and 
common  treatment  for  such  an  illness  is  to  go  to  the 
higher  ground  of  the  interior ;  and  the  situation  of 
Antioch  (about  3600  ft.  above  the  sea,  sheltered  by 
mountains  on  the  north  and  east,  and  overlooking  a  wide 
plain  to  the  south  and  south-west),  as  well  as  its 
Jewish  population,  and  commercial  connection  with  the 
Pamphylian  coast-cities,  made  it  a  very  suitable  place 
for  Paul's  purpose. 

But  why  then  did  the  historian  not  state  this  simple 
fact  ?  It  lies  out  of  his  purpose  and  method  to  notice 
such  personal  details.  He  states  in  the  briefest  possible 
form  the  essential  facts  of  the  evangelisation  of  the  world  ; 
and  everything  else  he  passes  over  as  of  ephemeral  nature. 
We  are  dealing  with  a  first  century,  and  not  a  nineteenth 
century  historian, — one  who  had  not  the  eager  desire  to 
understand  causes  and  reasons  which  characterises  the 
present  day,  one  who  wrote  for  a  public  that  was  quite 
satisfied  with  a  statement  of  facts  without  a  study  of  causes. 
There  is  too  much  tendency  to  demand  from  the  first 
century  writers  an  answer  to  all  the  questions  we  should 
like  to  put. 


94    Foundation  of  the  Chztrches  of  Galatia.    Chap.  V. 

Moreover,  Luke  passes  very  lightly  over  the  sufferings 
and  the  dangers  that  Paul  encountered  ;  many  he  omits 
entirely,  others  he  mentions  without  emphasising  the 
serious  nature  of  the  case  (p,  279  f.). 

It  is  plain  that  Paul  at  the  moment  felt  deeply 
wounded.  The  journey  which  he  felt  to  be  absolutely 
necessary  in  the  interests  of  future  work  was  treated  by 
Mark  as  an  abandonment  of  the  work  ;  and  his  sensitive 
nature  would  consider  Mark's  arguments,  plausible  as  they 
were  in  some  respects,  as  equivalent  to  a  declaration  of  want 
of  confidence.  But  that  feeling,  though  it  lasted  for  some 
years,  was  not  of  the  permanent  nature  which  wpuld  put 
it  on  the  same  plane  as  the  facts  recorded  by  Luke.  Who 
can  think  that  Paul  would  have  desired  permanent  record 
of  his  illness  and  Mark's  desertion  ?  And  his  desire  on  a 
matter  personal  to  himself  would  be  Luke's  law. 

2.  THE  "THORN  IN  THE  FLESH".  The  character  of 
the  Pamphylian  country,  not  merely  in  its  modern  half- 
cultivated  condition,  but  at  all  times,  must  have  been 
enervating  and  calculated  to  bring  out  any  latent  weakness 
of  constitution.  Now  it  is  a  probable  and  generally 
accepted  view  that  the  "  physical  weakness,"  which  was  the 
occasion  why  Paul  preached  to  the  Galatians,  was  the  same 
malady  which  tormented  him  at  frequent  intervals.  I  hav^e 
suggested  that  this  malady  was  a  species  of  chronic  malaria 
fever  ;  and,  in  view  of  criticisms,  it  is  necessary  to  dwell 
on  this  point ;  for  I  have  incurred  the  blame  of  exagger- 
ating an  ephemeral  attack.  The  question  is  put  whether 
such  an  illness  "  could  reasonably  have  called  forth  their 
contempt  and  loathing  ".^ 

*  Expositor,  Dec,  1893,  p.  417. 


Sec.  2.  The  "  Thorn  in  the  Flesh  ". 


95 


A  physical  weakness,  which  recurs  regularly  in  some 
situation  that  one  is  regularly  required  by  duty  to  face, 
produces  strong  and  peculiar  effect  on  our  human  nature. 
An  attentive  student  of  mankind  has  caught  this  trait  and 
described  it  clearly  in  one  of  the  characters  whom  his  genius 
has  created.  I  quote  from  Charles  Reade's  description  of 
a  clergyman  engaged  in  warfare  against  the  barbarity  of 
prison  discipline,  upon  whom  every  scene  of  cruelty  which 
he  had  often  to  witness  produced  a  distressing  physical 
effect,  sickness  and  trembling.  "  His  high-tuned  nature  gave 
way.  He  locked  the  door  that  no  one  might  see  his  weak- 
ness ;  and,  then,  succumbing  to  nature,  he  fell  first  into  a 
sickness  and  then  into  a  trembling,  and  more  than  once 
hysterical  tears  gushed  from  his  eyes  in  the  temporary  pros- 
tration of  his  spirit  and  his  powers.  Such  are  the  great. 
Men  know  their  feats,  but  not  their  struggles."  The  feeling 
of  shame  at  this  weakness  is  several  times  described  in  the 
course  of  the  narrative  (//  is  Never  too  Late  to  Mend) ;  and, 
when  at  last  nature,  on  the  verge  of  a  more  serious  physical 
prostration,  ceased  to  relieve  itself  in  this  painful  way,  "  he 
thanked  Heaven  for  curing  him  of  that  contemptible 
infirmity,  so  he  called  it ".  Yet  that  weakness  did  not 
prevent  the  sufferer  from  facing  his  duty,  but  only  came  on 
as  a  consequence  ;  and  it  could  be  hidden  within  the 
privacy  of  his  chamber.  Let  the  reader  conceive  the 
distress  and  shame  of  the  sufferer,  if  the  weakness  had 
prostrated  him  before  his  duty  was  finished,  and  laid  him 
helpless  before  them  all  when  he  required  his  whole  strength. 
Surely  he  would  have  "  besought  the  Lord  that  it  might 
depart  from  "  him,  and  regarded  it  as  "  a  messenger  of 
Satan  sent  to  buffet  him  "  (H  Cor.  XH  7,  8). 

Now,  in  some  constitutions  malaria  fever  tends  to  recur 


96    Foundation  of  the  Churches  of  Galatia.    Chap.  V. 

in  very  distressing  and  prostrating  paroxysms,  whenever 
one's  energies  are  taxed  for  a  great  effort.  Such  an  attack 
is  for  the  time  absolutely  incapacitating  :  the  sufferer  can 
only  lie  and  feel  himself  a  shaking  and  helpless  weakling, 
when  he  ought  to  be  at  work.  He  feels  a  contempt  and 
loathing  for  self,  and  believes  that  others  feel  equal  con- 
tempt and  loathing. 

Charles  Reade's  hero  could  at  least  retire  to  his  room,  and 
lock  the  door,  and  conceal  his  weakness  from  others  ;  but, 
in  the  publicity  of  Oriental  life,  Paul  could  have  no  privacy. 
In  every  paroxysm,  and  they  might  recur  daily,  he  would 
lie  exposed  to  the  pity  or  the  contempt  of  strangers.  If  he 
were  first  seen  in  a  Galatian  village,  or  house,  lying  in  the 
mud  on  the  shady  side  of  a  wall  for  two  hours  shaking  like 
an  aspen  leaf,  the  gratitude  that  he  expresses  to  the 
Galatians,  because  they  "  did  not  despise  nor  reject  his 
infirmity,"  was  natural  and  deserved. 

Fresh  light  is  thrown  on  this  subject  by  an  observation 
of  Mr.  Hogarth,  my  companion  in  many  journeys.  In 
publishing  a  series  of  inscriptions  recording  examples  of 
punishment  inflicted  by  the  God  on  those  who  had 
approached  the  sanctuary  in  impurity,  he  suggests  that 
malarial  fever  was  often  the  penalty  sent  by  the  God.  The 
paroxysms,  recurring  suddenly  with  overpowering  strength, 
and  then  passing  off,  seemed  to  be  due  to  the  direct  visita- 
tion of  God.  This  gives  a  striking  effect  to  Paul's  words  in 
Gal.  IV  14,  "  you  did  not  despise  nor  reject  my  physical 
infirmity,  but  received  me  as  an  angel  of  God  "  :  though 
the  Galatians  might  have  turned  him  away  from  their  door 
as  a  person  accursed  and  afflicted  by  God,  they  received 
him  as  God's  messenger.  The  obvious  implication  of  this 
passage  has  led  many  to  the  view  that  PauFs  malady  was 


Sec.  2.  The  '' TJioim  in  the  Flesh"".  97 

epilepsy,  which  was  also  attributed  to  the  direct  visitation  of 
God. 

A  strong  corroboration  is  found  in  the  phrase  :  "  a  stake 
in  the  flesh,"  which  Paul  uses  about  his  malady  (II  Cor.  XII 
7).  That  is  the  peculiar  headache  which  accompanies  the 
paroxysms  :  within  my  experience  several  persons,  innocent 
of  Pauline  theorising,  have  described  it  as  "  like  a  red-hot 
bar  thrust  through  the  forehead  ".  As  soon  as  fever  con- 
nected itself  with  Paul  in  my  mind,  the  "stake  in  the  flesh" 
impressed  me  as  a  strikingly  illustrative  metaphor  ;  and  the 
oldest  tradition  on  the  subject,  quoted  by  Tertullian  and 
others,  explains  the  "  stake  in  the  flesh  "  as  headache. 

The  malady  was  a  "  messenger  of  Satan  ".  Satan  seems 
to  represent  in  Pauline  language  any  overpowering  obstacle 
to  his  work,  an  obstacle  which  it  was  impossible  to  struggle 
against  :  so  Satan  prevented  him  from  returning  to 
Thessalonica,  in  the  form  of  an  ingenious  obstacle,  which 
made  his  return  impossible  for  the  time  (p.  230).  The 
words  "messenger  sent  to  buffet  me,"  imply  that  it  came 
frequently  and  unexpectedly,  striking  him  down  with  the 
power  of  the  Enemy. 

The  idea  that  the  malady  was  an  affection  of  the  eyes, 
resulting  from  blinding  at  his  conversion,  seems  inadequate 
in  itself,  unsuitable  to  his  own  words,  and  contradicted  by 
the  evidence  as  to  the  power  of  his  eyes  (p.  38). 

Paul  describes  the  malady  as  sent  to  prevent  him  from 
"  being  exalted  overmuch  by  reason  of  the  exceeding 
greatness  of  the  revelations  "  which  had  been  granted  to 
him  ;  and  he  clearly  implies  that  it  came  later  than  the 
great  revelation,  when  "  he  was  caught  up  even  to  the  third 
heaven  "  about  43  A.D.  (p.  60).  The  malady  certainly  did 
not  begin  long  before  this  journey;  and  the  attack  in  Pam- 
phylia  may  perhaps  have  been  the  first. 

7 


98    Foundation  of  the  Churches  of  G alalia.    Chap.  V. 

3.THE  SYNAGOGUE  IN  PISIDIAN  ANTIOCH.  (XIII  13) 
JOHN  DEPARTED  FROM  THEM  AND  RETURNED  TO  JERU- 
SALEM ;  (14)  BU*  THEY  WENT  ACROSS  FROM  PERGA 
AND  ARRIVED  AT  PISIDIAN  ANTIOCH.  AND  THEY 
WENT  INTO  THE  SYNAGOGUE  ON  THE  SABBATH  DAY, 
AND  SAT  DOWN  ;  (15)  AND  AFTER  THE  READING  OF 
THE  LAW  AND  THE  PROPHETS,  THE  ARCHISYNAGOGOI 
SENT  TO  THEM  SAYING,  "  GENTLEMEN,  BRETHREN,  IF 
THERE  IS  IN  YOU  A  WORD  OF  ENCOURAGEMENT  TO 
THE  PEOPLE,  SAY  ON  ".  (16)  AND  PAUL  STOOD  UP  AND 
MADE  A  GESTURE  WITH  HIS  HAND  AND  SPOKE.  .  .  . 
(42)  AND  AS  THEY  WENT  OUT,  THEY  BESOUGHT  THAT 
THESE  WORDS  MIGHT  BE  SPOKEN  TO  THEM  THE  NEXT 
SABBATH.  (43)  NOW,  WHEN  THE  SYNAGOGUE  BROKE 
UP,  MANY  OF  THE  JEWS  AND  OF  THE  GOD-FEARING 
Proselytes  FOLLOWED  PAUL  AND  BARNABAS  :  WHO, 
SPEAKING  TO  THEM,  URGED  THEM  TO  CONTINUE  IN 
THE  GRACE  OF  GOD.  (44)  AND  THE  NEXT  SABBATH 
ALMOST  THE  WHOLE  CITY  WAS  GATHERED  TOGETHER 
TO  HEAR  THE  WORD  OF  GOD.  (45)  BUT  WHEN  THE 
JEWS  SAW  THE  MULTITUDES,  THEY  WERE  FILLED  WITH 
JEALOUSY,  AND  CONTRADICTED  THE  THINGS  WHICH 
WERE  SPOKEN  BY  PAUL,  AND  BLASPHEMED.  (46)  AND 
PAUL  AND  BARNABAS  SPAKE  OUT  BOLDLY  AND  SAID,  "  IT 
WAS  NECESSARY  THAT  THE  WORD  OF  GOD  SHOULD  FIRST 
BE  SPOKEN  TO  YOU.  SEEING  YE  THRUST  IT  FROM  YOU, 
AND  JUDGE  YOURSELVES  UNWORTHY  OF  ETERNAL  LIFE, 
LO,  WE  TURN  TO  THE  GENTILES."  .  .  .  (48)  AND  AS  THE 
GENTILES  HEARD  THIS,  THEY  WERE  GLAD  AND  GLORI- 
FIED THE  WORD  OF  GOD :  AND  AS  MANY  AS  WERE 
ORDAINED  TO  ETERNAL  LIFE  BELIEVED.  (49)  AND  THE 
WORD  OF  THE  LORD  WAS  SPREAD  ABROAD  THROUGHOUT 


Sec.  3.     The  Synagogue  in  Pisidian  Anlioc/i.         9^ 

ALL  THE  REGION.  (50)  BUT  THE  JEWS  URGED  ON  THE 
DEVOUT  WOMEN  OF  HONOURABLE  ESTATE,  AND  THE 
CHIEF  MEN  OF  THE  CITY,  AND  STIRRED  UP  A  PERSECU- 
TION AGAINST  PAUL  AND  BARNABAS,  AND  CAST  THEM 
OUT  OF  THEIR  BORDERS.  (51)  BUT  THEY  SHOOK  OFF 
THE  DUST  OF  THEIR  FEET  AGAINST  THEM,  AND  CAME 
UNTO  ICONIUM.  (52)  AND  THE  DISCIPLES  WERE  FILLED 
WITH   JOY  AND  WITH   THE   HOLY  GHOST. 

The  route  between  Perga  and  Pisidian  Antioch,  with  its 
"  perils  of  rivers,  perils  of  robbers,"  and  the  later  legend 
connected  with  the  journey  across  the  Pisidian  mountains 
by  the  city  which  still  bears  the  Apostle's  name,  is  de- 
scribed elsewhere,  and  need  not  here  detain  us. 

The  usual  punctuation  of  vv.  13,  14,  seems  to  arise  from 
the  idea  that  Paul's  sermon  was  delivered  on  the  first  Sab- 
bath after  he  reached  Antioch.  So,  Conybeare  and  How- 
son  say,  "  a  congregation  came  together  at  Antioch  on  the 
Sabbath  which  immediately  succeeded  the  arrival  of  Paul 
and  Barnabas  ".  It  seems,  however,  not  possible  that  such 
powerful  effect  as  is  described  in  v.  44  should  have  been 
produced  on  the  whole  city  within  the  first  ten  days  after 
they  arrived  in  Antioch.  Moreover,  when  Paul's  teaching 
had  become  more 'definite  and  pronounced,  he  preached 
three  successive  Sabbaths  to  the  Jews  at  Thessalonica  (p. 
228),  and  it  seems  implied  that  the  rupture  took  place  there 
unusually  soon ;  hence,  at  this  time,  when  he  had  been 
preaching  for  years  in  the  Jewish  synagogues  of  Cilicia, 
Syria  and  Cyprus,  it  is  improbable  that  the  quarrel  with 
the  Jews  of  Antioch  took  place  on  the  second  Sabbath. 

But,  when  the  passage  is  properly  punctuated,  there  re- 
mains nothing  to  show  that  Paul's  speech  was  delivered  on 
his  first  Sabbath  in  Antioch.    Nothing  is  said  as  to  the  first 


I  oo  Foiutdatiou  of  the  Churches  of  Galatia.  Chap.  V. 

days  of  the  Apostles'  stay  in  the  city.  We  are  to  under- 
stand, according  to  the  rule  already  observed  (p.  72  f.),  that 
the  usual  method  was  pursued,  and  that  some  time  passed 
before  any  critical  event  took  place.  As  at  Paphos,  the 
fame  of  the  new  teachers  gradually  spread  through  the  city. 
The  historian  gives  an  address  to  the  synagogue  with  an 
outline  of  the  teaching  which  produced  this  result ;  the 
address  delivered  on  a  critical  Sabbath,  after  feeling  had 
already  been  moved  for  some  time,  may  well  have  remained 
in  the  memory  or  in  the  manuscript  diary  of  some  of  the 
interested  hearers,  and  thus  been  preserved.  We  make  it 
part  of  our  hypothesis  that  Luke  took  his  task  as  a  historian 
seriously,  and  obtained  original  records  where  he  could. 

Paul's  address  to  the  assembled  Jews  and  proselytes  was 
doubtless  suggested  by  the  passages,  one  from  the  Law,  one 
from  the  Prophets,  which  were  read  before  he  was  called  to 
speak.  It  has  been  conjectured  that  these  passages  were 
Dent.  I  and  Isaiah  I,  which  in  the  Septuagint  Version  con- 
tain two  marked  words  employed  by  Paul  :  the  Scriptures 
were  probably  read  in  Greek  in  this  synagogue  of  Grecised 
Jews  (see  pp.  84,  169).  Deut.  I  naturally  suggests  the 
historical  retrospect  with  which  Paul  begins  ;  and  the 
promise  of  remission  of  sins  rises  naturally  out  of  Isaiah  I 
18.  Dean  Farrar  mentions  that  "  in  the  present  list  of  Jew- 
ish \&'s>sons,  Deut.  I-III  22  and  Isaiah  I  1-22  stand  forty- 
fourth  in  order  ".  That  list  is  of  decidedly  later  origin  ; 
but  probably  it  was  often  determined  by  older  custom  and 
traditional  ideas  of  suitable  accompaniment. 

The  climax  of  the  address  passed  from  the  historical  sur- 
vey (with  its  assurance  of  unfailing  Divine  guidance  for  the 
Chosen  People)  to  the  sending  of  Jesus,  who  had  been  slain 
by  the  rulers  of  Jerusalem  ("  because  they  knew  Him  not. 


Sec.  3.     The  Synagogue  in  Pisidian  Antioch.       10 1 

nor  the  voices  of  the  prophets  which  are  read  every  Sab- 
bath," V.  27),  but  whom  God  had  raised  from  the  dead. 
Then  follow  the  promise  and  the  peroration— 

(XIII     38)     BE     IT     KNOWN      UNTO     YOU     THEREFORE, 
BRETHREN,    THAT    THROUGH   THIS    MAN    IS   PROCLAIMED 
UNTO     YOU     REMISSION     OF     SINS;     (39)     AND     BY     HIM 
EVERY   ONE    THAT    BELIEVETH    IS    JUSTIFIED    FROM   ALL 
THINGS,   FROM   WHICH  YE   COULD  NOT   BE   JUSTIFIED  BY 
THE    LAW    OF    MOSES.       (40)    BEWARE,   THEREFORE,   LEST 
THAT    COME    UPON     YOU,    WHICH    IS     SPOKEN     IN     THE 
prophets;     "BEHOLD,     YE     DESPISERS,     AND     WONDER, 
AND    PERISH  ;    FOR   I   WORK  A  WONDER   IN   YOUR  DAYS ". 
This  outspoken  declaration  that  the  Judaic  system  was 
superseded  by  a  higher  message  from  God  is  not  said  to 
have  hurt  the  feelings  of  the  Jews  who  were  present.     Paul 
was   invited   to   continue   his  discourse   on   the    followmg 
Sabbath  ;  many  of  the  audience,  both  Jews  and  proselytes, 
followed  the  Apostles  from  the  synagogue ;  and  both  Paul 
and  Barnabas  addressed  them  further,  and  emphasised  the 
effect  of  the  previous  address. 

There  must  have  been  something  in  the  situation  or  in 
the  supplementary  explanations  given  by  Paul  and  Barnabas, 
which  made  his  words  specially  applicable  to  the  Gentiles  ; 
and  a  vast  crowd  of  the  citizens  gathered  to  hear  Paul  on 
the  following  week.      Paul's  address  on  this  occasion   is 
not  given.      It  was  in  all  probability  addressed  pointedly 
to  the  Antiochians,  for  violent  opposition  and  contradiction 
and  jealousy  were  roused  among  the  Jews.     We  may  fairly 
infer  that  the  open  door  of  belief  for  the  whole  world  irre- 
spective of  race  was  made  a  prominent  topic ;  for  the  passion 
which  animated  the  Jewish  opposition  is  said  to  have  been 
jealousy.      The  climax  of  a  violent  scene  was  the  bold 


I02  Foimdation  of  the  Ckitrches  of  Galatia.    Chap.  V. 

declaration  of  Paul  and  Barnabas  that  they  "  turned  to  the 
Gentiles,  since  the  Jews  rejected  the  Gospel ". 

In  this  scene  the  same  fact  that  was  observed  at  Paphos 
came  out  prominently.  The  eager  interest  and  the  invita- 
tion of  the  general  population  stimulated  Paul ;  and  his 
ideas  developed  rapidly.  The  first  thoroughly  Gentile 
congregation  separate  from  the  synagogue  was  established 
at  Pisidian  Antioch.  Where  he  saw  no  promise  of  success, 
he  never  persisted  ;  but  where  "  a  door  was  opened  unto 
him,"  he  used  the  opportunity  (I  Cor.  XVI  9,  II  Cor,  II  12). 

The  influence  attributed  to  the  women  at  Antioch,  v.  50, 
is  in  perfect  accord  with  the  manners  of  the  country.  In 
Athens  or  in  an  Ionian  city,  it  would  have  been  impossible 
(p.  252). 

4.  THE  CHURCH  AT  PISIDIAN  ANTIOCH.  The 
deep  impression  that  had  already  been  produced  on 
the  general  population  of  Antioch  was  intensified  when  the 
preaching  of  Paul  and  Barnabas  began  to  be  addressed  to 
them  directly  and  exclusively.  The  effect  was  now  ex- 
tended to  the  whole  Region.  This  term  does  not 
indicate  the  lands  immediately  around  the  fortifications  of 
Antioch,  and  belonging  to  that  city.  The  free  population 
of  those  lands  were  citizens  of  Antioch  ;  and  the  term 
"city,"  according  to  the  ancient  idea,  included  the  entire 
lands  that  belonged  to  it,  and  not  the  mere  space  covered 
by  continuous  houses  and  a  fortified  wall.  "A  city  was 
not  walls,  but  men  ;  "  and  the  saying  had  a  wider  and 
more  practical  meaning  to  the  ancients  than  is  generally 
taken  from  it  in  modern  times.  The  phrase  that  is  here 
used,  "  the  whole  Region^'  indicates  some  distinct  and 
recognised  circle  of  territories. 

Here  we  have  a  fact  of  administration  and  government 


Sec.  4.       The  Church  at  Pisidian  Antioch.  103 

assumed  in  quiet  undesigned  fashion :  Antioch  was  the 
centre  of  a  Region.  This  is  the  kind  of  allusion  which 
affords  to  students  of  ancient  literature  a  test  of  accuracy, 
and  often  a  presumption  of  date.  I  think  that,  if  we  put 
this  assumption  to  the  test,  we  shall  find  (i)  that  it  is  right, 
(2)  that  it  adds  a  new  fact,  probable  in  itself  but  not  else- 
where formally  stated,  about  the  Roman  administration  of 
Galatia,  (3)  that  it  explains  and  throws  new  light  on  several 
passages  in  ancient  authors  and  inscriptions.  Without 
discussing  the  subject  too  elaborately,  we  may  point  out 
the  essentials. 

My  friend  Prof  Sterrett,  of  Amherst,  Massachusetts,  has 
discovered  and  published  an  inscription  of  Antioch,  which 
speaks  of  a  "  regionary  centurion "  {eKaTovrap'^j]v  pe^ecovd- 
pLov),  evidently  a  military  official  charged  with  certain 
duties  (probably  in  the  maintenance  of  peace  and  order) 
within  a  certain  Regio  of  which  Antioch  was  the  centre. 

Partly  to  guard  against  a  possible  objection,  partly  to 
show  how  much  may  depend  on  accuracy  in  a  single  letter, 
it  may  be  added  that  Prof  Sterrett  in  publishing  this  in- 
scription makes  a  conjectural  alteration,  which  would 
deprive  us  of  the  help  that  the  inscription  gives.  He 
prints  {\)ey6ci)vdpt,ov ;  but  this  is  an  arbitrary  change  in 
violation  of  his  own  copy. 

Thus  we  have  epigraphic  authority  to  prove  that 
Antioch  under  the  Roman  administration  was  the 
centre  of  a  Region.  Further,  we  can  determine  the  ex- 
tent and  the  name  of  that  Region^  remembering  always  that 
in  a  province  like  Galatia,  where  evidence  is  lamentably 
scanty,  we  must  often  be  content  with  reasonable  prob- 
ability, and  rarely  find  such  an  inscription  as  Prof 
Sterrett's  to  put  us  on  a  plane  of  demonstrated  certainty. 


I04  Foundation  of  the  Churches  of  Galatia.    Chap.  V. 

It  is  natural  in  the  administration  of  so  large  a  province 
as  Galatia,  and  there  are  some  recorded  proofs,  that  a 
certain  number  of  distinct  Regioncs  (or  'ywpai)  existed  in 
Southern  Galatia.  To  quote  the  exact  names  recorded,  we 
have  Phrygia  or  ^Ppvyia  %&j/3<x,  Isauria  or  ''IcravpiKr)  (■)^a)pa), 
Pisidia,  Lycaonia  or  FaXaTiKt]  %c6/oa  (with  tj}?  AvKaovLa<i 
understood,  denoting  the  Roman  part  of  Lycaonia  in 
contrast  with  Lycaonia  AntiocJiiana  or  \^vrLO')(iavr]  x^P^t 
the  part  of  Lycaonia  ruled  by  King  Antiochus).  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  Pisidian  i\ntioch  (strictly  "  a  Phrygian 
city  towards  Pisidia")  was  the  centre  of  the  Region  called 
Phrygia  in  inscriptions  enumerating  the  parts  of  the  pro- 
vince, and  "  the  Phrygian  Region  of  (the  province)  Galatia  " 
in  Acts  XVI  6,  or  "the  Phrygian  Region"  XVIII  23. 
This  central  importance  of  Antioch  was  due  to  its  position 
as  a  Roman  Colony,  which  made  it  the  military  and 
administrative  centre  of  the  country. 

Thus,  without  any  formal  statement,  and  without  any 
technical  term,  but  in  the  course  of  a  bare,  simple  and 
brief  account  of  the  effects  of  Paul's  preaching,  we  find 
ourselves  unexpectedly  (just  as  Paul  and  Barnabas  found 
themselves  unintentionally)  amid  a  Roman  provincial 
district,  which  is  moved  from  the  centre  to  the  extremi- 
ties by  the  new  preaching.  It  is  remarkable  how  the  ex- 
pression of  Luke  embodies  the  very  soul  of  history  (p.  200). 

A  certain  lapse  of  time,  then,  is  implied  in  the  brief  words 
of  V.  49.  The  process  whereby  the  whole  region  was  in- 
fluenced by  the  Word  must  have  been  a  gradual  one.  The 
similar  expression  used  in  XIX  10  may  serve  as  a  standard 
of  comparison  :  there,  during  a  period  of  two  years  in 
Ephesus,  "all  they  which  dwelt  in  Asia  heard  the  Word". 
The  sphere  of  influence  is  immensely  wider  in  that  case ; 


Sec.  4-       The  Church  at  Pisidiau   Antioch.  105 


but  the  process  is  the  same.  Persons  from  the  other  cities 
came  to  Antioch  as  administrative  centre,  the  great  garrison 
city,  which  was  often  visited  by  the  Roman  governor  and 
was  the  residence  of  some  subordinate  officials  :  they  came 
for  law-suits,  for  trade,  for  great  festivals  of  the  Roman 
unity  (such  as  that  described  in  the  Acta  of  Paul  and 
Thekla).^  In  Antioch  they  heard  of  the  new  doctrine  ; 
some  came  under  its  influence  ;  the  knowledge  of  it  was 
thus  borne  abroad  over  the  whole  territory  ;  probably  small 
knots  of  Christians  were  formed  In  other  towns. 

How  long  a  period  of  time  is  covered  by  v.  49  we  cannot 
lell  with  certainty  ;  but  it  must  be  plain  to  every  one  that 
the  estimate  of  the  whole  residence  at  Antioch  as  two  to 
six  months,  is,  as  is  elsewhere  said,  a  minimum. 

It  may  be  observed  that  in  the  Antiochian  narrative  a 
period  of  some  weeks  is  passed  over  in  total  silence,  then 
thirty-three  verses  are  devoted  to  the  epoch-making  events 
of  two  successive  Sabbaths,  and  then  another  considerable 
period  is  summed  up  in  v.  49. 

The  action  by  which  Paul  and  Barnabas  were  expelled 
from  Antioch  has  been  fully  described  elsewhere.  The 
expulsion  was  inflicted  by  the  magistrates  of  the  city,  and 
was  justified  to  their  minds  in  the  interests  of  peace  and 
order.  It  was  not  inflicted  by  officials  of  the  province, 
and  hence  the  effect  is  expressly  restricted  by  the  historian 
to  Antiochian  territory.  Slight  as  the  details  are,  they 
suit  the  circumstances  of  the  time  perfectly. 

A  slight  addition  made  in  Codex  Bezce  at  this  point 
presents  some  features  of  interest.  In  the  Approved  Text 
the  Jews  "  roused  persecution  "  against  the  Apostles ;  but 
in  the  Codex  they  roused  "  great  affliction  and  persecution  ". 

^  Church  in  R.  E.,  p.  396;  Cities  and  Bishoprics,  p.  56. 


1 06  Foutidation  of  the  Churches  of  Galatia.    Chap.  V. 

The  additional  words  are  not  characterised  by  that  deh'cate 
precision  in  the  choice  of  terms  which  belongs  to  Luke. 
"  Affliction  "  (dXi-\ln<i)  refers  more  to  the  recipient,  "  perse- 
cution "  (Bcooy/Moi;)  to  the  agent ;  hence  the  "  to  rouse  perse- 
cution "  is  a  well-chosen  phrase,  but  "  to  rouse  affliction  "  is 
not.  The  words  of  Codex  Bezcs  have  been  added  under 
the  influence  of  the  enumeration  of  his  sufferings  given  by 
Paul  in  II  Cor.  XI  23  (cp.  II  Tim.  Ill  11).  The  dispro- 
portion between  that  list  and  the  references  to  physical 
sufferings  in  Acts  led  to  a  series  of  additions,  designed  to 
bring  about  a  harmony  between  the  two  authorities. 

In  the  additions  of  this  kind  made  to  Codex  Bez<2  we 
have  the  beginnings  of  a  Pauline  myth.  There  is  nothing 
in  which  popular  fancy  among  the  early  Christians  showed 
itself  so  creative  as  the  tortures  of  its  heroes.  The  earliest 
Acta  of  martyrs  contain  only  a  moderate  amount  of 
torture,  such  in  kind  as  was  inseparable  from  Roman 
courts  of  justice  ;  as  time  passed,  these  tortures  seemed 
insufficient,  and  the  old  Acta  were  touched  up  to  suit  what 
the  age  believed  must  have  taken  place.  Where  we  possess 
accounts  of  a  martyrdom  of  different  dates,  the  older  are 
less  filled  with  sufferings  than  the  later.  A  similar  process 
of  accretion  to  Acts  was  actually  beginning,  but  was 
checked  by  the  veneration  that  began  to  regard  its  text 
as  sacred. 

Luke  passes  very  lightly  over  Paul's  sufferings :  from 
11  Tim.  Ill  II,  we  see  that  he  must  have  endured 
much.  He  was  three  times  beaten  with  the  rods  of  lie- 
tors  before  A.D.  56  (II  Cor.  XI  25).  Now,  since  the  Roman 
governors  whom  he  met  were  favourable  to  him,  these 
beatings  must  have  taken  place  in  "colonies,"  whose 
magistrates  were  attended  by  lictors.     It  is  probable  that 


Sec.  4.       The  Church  at  Pisidian  A^itioch.  107 

the  persecution  which  is  mentioned  in  Antioch,  and  hinted 
at  in  Lystra,  included  beating  by  h'ctors.  It  is  noteworthy 
that  the  magistrates  of  these  two  cities  are  not  expressly 
mentioned,  and  therefore  there  was  no  opportunity  for 
describing  their  action.  The  third  beating  by  lictors  was 
in  Philippi,  also  a  colony. 

Similarly  it  can  hardly  be  doubted  that  some  of  the 
five  occasions  on  which  Paul  received  stripes  from  the 
Jews  were  in  the  Galatian  cities,  where  some  Jews  were  so 
active  against  him. 

5.  ICONIUM.  (XIV  l)  AND  IT  CAME  TO  PASS  IN 
ICONIUM  AFTER  THE  SAME  FASHION  as  in  Antiock 
THAT  THEY  ENTERED  INTO  THE  SYNAGOGUE  OF  THE 
JEWS  AND  SO  SPAKE  THAT  A  GREAT  MULTITUDE, 
BOTH  OF  JEWS  AND  OF  GREEKS,  BELIEVED.  (2) 
BUT  THE  DISAFFECTED  AMONG  THE  JEWS  STIRRED  UP 
AND  EXASPERATED  THE  MINDS  OF  THE  GENTILES 
AGAINST  THE  BRETHREN.  (4)  AND  THE  POPULACE 
WAS  DIVIDED  ;  AND  PART  HELD  WITH  THE  JEWS  AND 
PART  WITH  THE  APOSTLES.  (5)  AND  WHEN  THERE 
WAS  MADE  AN  ONSET  BOTH  OF  THE  GENTILES  AND  OF 
THE  JEWS  WITH  THEIR  RULERS,  TO  ENTREAT  THEM 
SHAMEFULLY,  AND  TO  STONE  THEM,  (6)  THEY  BECAME 
AWARE   OF   IT,   AND   FLED    INTO   LYCAONIA. 

According  to  the  reading  of  the  MSS.,  the  narrative  of 
these  incidents  is  obscure  ;  and  it  is  hard  to  believe  that 
the  text  is  correct.  In  v.  i  the  great  success  of  the  preach- 
ing is  related,  while  in  v.  2  the  disaffected  Jews  rouse  bitter 
feeling  against  the  Apostles  (the  aorists  implying  that  the 
efforts  were  successful).  Then  in  v.  3  we  are  astonished 
to  read,  as  the  sequel  of  the  Jewish  action,  that  the  Apostles 
remained  a  long  time  preaching  boldly  and  with  marked 


{o8  Foundation  of  the  Churches  of  Galatia.    Chap.  V. 

success  :  and  finally,  in  v.  4,  the  consequences  of  the  Jewish 
action  are  set  forth.  It  is  therefore  not  surprising  that  the 
critics  who  look  on  Acts  as  a  patchwork  have  cut  up  this 
passage.  It  must  be  conceded  that  appearances  in  this 
case  are  in  their  favour,  and  that  the  correctness  and 
originality  of  the  narrative  can  hardly  be  defended  without 
the  supposition  that  some  corruption  has  crept  into  it  ; 
but  the  great  diversity  of  text  in  the  various  MSS.  and 
Versions  is,  on  ordinary  critical  principles,  a  sign  that  some 
corruption  did  take  place  at  a  very  early  date. 

The  close  relation  of  vv.  2  and  4  is  patent ;  and  Spitta's 
hypothesis  of  a  primitive  document  containing  vv.  i,  2, 
4)  5.  6,  7,  gives  a  clear  and  excellent  narrative.  Only,  in 
place  of  his  improbable  theory  that  z^.  3  is  a  scrap  from  an 
independent  and  complete  narrative,  I  should  regard  it  as 
an  early  gloss,  similar  to  the  many  which  have  crept  into 
the  Bezan  Text.  The  emphasis  laid  on  the  marvel  at 
Lystra,  which  perhaps  implies  that  it  was  the  first  sign  of 
special  Divine  favour  in  the  Galatian  work  (p.  115),  may 
corroborate  this  view  to  some  extent.  Marvels  and 
tortures  are  the  two  elements  which,  as  time  goes  on,  are 
added  to  the  story  of  every  saint  and  martyr ;  the  Bezan 
Text  of  this  passage  shows  a  further  addition  of  the  same 
type  (p.  113),  and  is  distinguished  by  numerous  additions 
telling  of  the  Divine  intervention  in  Paul's  work.  All 
such  additions,  probably,  grew  in  the  popular  belief,  and 
then  became  attached  as  true  facts  to  the  original  text. 

The  Bezan  Text  of  2,  3,  is  a  good  example  of  its 
character  as  a  modernised  and  explanatory  edition  of  an 
already  archaic  and  obscure  text.  The  discrepancy  be- 
tween V.  2  and  V.  3  called  for  some  remedy,  which  was 
found  in  the  supposition  that  there  were  two  tumults  in 


Sec.  5. 


Iconium.  ^°9 


Iconium:  on  this  supposition  v.  2  was  interpreted  of  the 
first  tumult,  and  a  conclusion,  "and  the  Lord  soon  gave 
peace,"  was  tacked  on  to  it.  The  narrative  then  proceeds 
after  the  renewed  preaching  of  v.  3,  to  the  second  tumult  o. 
^z;  4  5  (p  113).  The  double  tumult  lent  itself  well  to  the 
growing  Pauline  myth,  which  sought  to  find  occasion  for 
the  sufferings  and  persecutions  of  II  Cor.  XL  _      _ 

But   if  there  were  two  stages  in  the  Iconian  narrative  m 
its  original  uncorrupted  form,  we  might  reasonably  argue 
from  the  words  "  in  the  same  way  {as  at  Antiochy  that  the 
two  stages  were  (i)  successful  preaching  in  the  synagogue, 
brought  to  a  conclusion  by  the  jealousy  and  machinations 
of  the  Jews  ;  (2)  Paul  and  Barnabas  turned  to  the  Gentile 
population   exclusively   and    were    remarkably    successfu 
among    them.      But    conjectural    alteration    of    the    text 
would  be  required  to  elicit  that   meaning  ;   and  we  can- 
not spend  more  time  here  on  this  passage. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  no  effect  on  the  Region  around 
Iconium  is  mentioned.  According  to  our  hypothesis  we 
must  recognise  the  difference  from  the  narrative  at  Antioch. 
where  the  wide-spread  effect  is  emphasised  so  strongly. 
The  difference  is  natural,  and  the  reason  is  clear,  when  we 
consider  the  difference  between  the  two  cities:  Antioch 
was  the  governing  centre  of  a  wide  Region  which  looked  to 
it  for  administration,  whereas  Iconium  was  a  comparatively 
insignificant  town  in  the  Region  round  Antioch. 

Again,  when  Paul  and  Barnabas  went  from  Antioch  to 
Iconium!  they  were  not  going  to  a  new  district,  but  to  an 
outlying  city  of  the  same  district;  hence  there  is  no 
definition  of  their  proposed  sphere  of  duty.  They  were 
expelled  from  Antioch,  and  they  came  to  Iconium.  ihe 
case  was  very  different  when  they  found  it  expedient  to 


I  lo  Foundation  of  the  Churches  of  Galatia.    Chap.  V. 

leave  Iconium.  They  then  had  to  cross  the  frontier  to  a  new 
Region  of  the  same  province,  which  began  a  few  miles 
south  and  east  from  Iconium.  The  passage  to  a  new  Region 
and  a  new  sphere  of  work  is  clearly  marked  in  the  text. 
^  5.  THE  CITIES  OF  LYCAONIA.  (xiv  6)  Paul  and 
Barnabas  FLED  UNTO  THE  CITIES  OF  LYCAONIA,  LYSTRA 
AND  DERBE,  AND  THE  SURROUNDING  REGION  ;  (7)  AND 
THERE  THEY  WERE  ENGAGED  IN  PREACHING  THE  GOSPEL. 
The  expression  used  in  XIV  6  is  remarkable  (p.  90)  : 
"they  fled  into  Lycaonia,  especially  to  the  part  of  it 
which  is  summed  up  as  the  cities,  Lystra  and  Derbe, 
and  the  surrounding  Region  ".  To  understand  this  we 
must  bear  in  mind  that  the  growth  of  cities  in  Central 
and  Eastern  Asia  Minor  was  connected  with  the  spread 
of  Greek  civilisation  ;  and  in  the  primitive  pre-Greek 
condition  of  the  country  there  were  no  cities  organised 
according  to  the  Greek  system,  and  hardly  any  large 
settlements,  except  the  governing  centres,  which  were, 
however,  Oriental  towns,  not  Greek  cities.  Now,  in  v.  6 
a  Region  comprising  part  of  Lycaonia  is  distinguished 
from  the  rest  as  consisting  of  two  cities  and  a  stretch 
of  cityless  territory  (/.^.,  territory  organised  on  the 
native  pre-Greek  village  system). 

Here,  as  in  XIII  14,  we  have  one  of  those  definite 
statements,  involving  both  historical  and  geographical 
facts,  which  the  student  of  ancient  literature  pounces 
upon  as  evidence  to  test  accuracy  and  date.  Is  the 
description  accurate  ?  If  so,  was  it  accurate  at  all 
periods  of  history,  or  was  it  accurate  only  at  a  particular 
period  ?  To  these  questions  we  must  answer  that  it 
was  accurate  at  the  period  when  Paul  visited  Lycaonia ; 
that  it  was  accurate  at  no  other  time  except  between  37 


Sec.  6.  The  Cities  of  Lycaonia.  1 1  ^ 


and  72  AD.  ;  and  that  its  only  meaning  is  to  distinguish 
between  the  Roman  part  of  Lycaonia  and  the  non- 
Roman  part  ruled  by  Antiochus.  It  is  instructive  as 
to  Luke's  conception  of  Paul's  method,  and  about 
Luke's  own  ideas  on  the  development  of  the  Christian 
Church,  that  he  should  here  so  pointedly  define  the 
Roman  part  of  Lycaonia  as  the  region  to  which  Paul 
went  and  where  he  continued  preaching. 

In  modern  expression  we  might  call  this  district 
"  Roman  Lycaonia "  ;  but  that  would  not  be  true  to 
ancient  usage.  Territory  subject  to  Rome  was  not 
termed  ager  Rommtus  (p.  347).  but  was  designated 
after  the  province  to  which  it  was  attached  ;  and  this 
district  was  Galatica  Lycaonia,  because  it  was  in  the 
province  Galatia.  It  was  distinguished  from  ^^  Lycaonia 
Antiochianar  which  was  ruled  by  King  Antiochus. 

Such  was  official  usage  ;  but  we  know  the  capncious- 
ness  of  popular  nomenclature,  which  often  prefers  some 
other  name  to  the  official  designation.     The  inhabitants 
of    the     Roman     part    spoke     of    the     other    as    "the 
Antiochian  Region"  (AvTioxiavh  X^P«)'  ^^^  ^^^  P^""?^^ 
of    the     latter     spoke     of     the     Roman     part     as     the 
"  Galatic  Region  "  {TaXarLKh  X^P^)'     ^^  ^^^  unnecessary 
for  persons  who  were  living  in  the   country  to  be  more 
precise.     Now  this  Region  of  Roman  or  Galatic  Lycaonia 
is  three  times  mentioned   in  Acts,     (i)  In  XIV  7  it  is 
defined   by   enumerating    its    parts;    and   as    Paul    goes 
to   it   out   of  Phrygia,    it    is   necessary   to   express   that 
he  went  into  Lycaonia  :   the  advice  which   the   Iconians 
gave   him  would  be  to  go  into  Lycaonia.     (2)  In  XVI 
1-3    the  writer  does  not  sum  up  the  district  as  a  whole, 
for  his  narrative  requires  a  distinction  between  the  brief 


1 1 2  Foundation  of  the  Churches  of  Galatia.    Chap.  V. 

visit  to  Derbe  an  J  the  long  visit  to  Lystra.  (3)  In 
XVIII  23,  as  he  enters  the  Roman  Region  from  the 
"  Antiochian  Part,"  the  writer  uses  the  name  which 
Paul  would  use  as  he  was  entering  it,  and  calls  it  "  the 
Galatic  Region ".  This  is  characteristic  of  Acts  :  it 
moves  amid  the  people,  and  the  author  has  caught  his 
term  in  many  a  case  from  the  mouth  of  the  people. 
But  this  is  done  with  no  subservience  to  vulgar  usage ; 
the  writer  is  on  a  higher  level  of  thought,  and  he 
knows  how  to  select  those  popular  terms  which  are 
vital  and  powerful,  and  to  reject  those  which  are  vulgar 
and  inaccurate :  he  moves  among  the  people,  and  yet 
stands  apart  from  them. 

The  subsequent  narrative  makes  it  clear  that  Paul 
visited  only  Lystra  and  Derbe.  Why,  then,  should  the 
author  mention  that  Paul  proceeded  "  to  Lystra  and 
Derbe  and  the  Region  in  which  they  lie  "  ?  The  reason  lies 
in  his  habit  of  defining  each  new  sphere  of  work  according 
to  the  existing  political  divisions  of  the  Roman  Empire. 
-~  It  is  characteristic  of  Luke's  method  never  formally 
to  enunciate  Paul's  principle  of  procedure,  but  simply 
to  state  the  facts  and  leave  the  principle  to  shine 
through  them  ;  and  here  it  shines  clearly  through  them, 
for  he  made  the  limit  of  Roman  territory  the  limit  of 
his  work,  and  turned  back  when  he  came  to  Lystra. 
He  did  not  go  on  to  Laranda,  which  was  probably  a 
greater  city  than  Derbe  at  the  time,  owing  to  its 
situation  and  the  policy  followed  by  King  Antiochus. 
Nor  did  he  go  to  the  uncivilised,  uneducated  native 
villages  or  towns  of  Roman  Galatia,  such  as  Barata. 

Accordingly,  the  historian  in  the   few   words    (XIV   6, 
7)    assumes'  and    embodies    the   principle   which    can    be 


Sec.  6.  The  Cities  of  Lycaonia.  1 1 3 

recognised  as  guiding  Paul's  action,  viz.,  to  go  to  the 
Roman  world,  and  especially  to  its  great  cities.  There 
is  no  more  emphatic  proof  of  the  marvellous  delicacy  in 
expression  that  characterises  the  selection  of  words  in 
Acts, — a  delicacy  that  can  spring  only  from  perfect 
knowledge  of  the  characters  and  actions  described. 

But  the  passage,  not  unnaturally,  caused  great  difficulties 
to  readers  of  the  second  century,  when  the  bounds  of 
Galatia  had  changed,  and  the  remarkable  definition  of 
XIV  6  had  become  unintelligible.  It  was  then  gathered 
from  these  words  that  some  preaching  took  place  in  "  the 
region  round  about,"  and  the  explanation  was  found  in  the 
later  historical  fact  (which  we  may  assume  unhesitatingly 
as  true),  that  converts  of  Paul  carried  the  new  religion 
over  the  whole  region.  This  fact,  got  from  independent 
knowledge,  was  added  to  the  text,  and  thus  arose  the 
"  Western "  Text,  which  appears  with  slight  variations 
in  different  authorities.  In  Codex  Bezce  the  result  is  as 
follows  (alterations  being  in  italics)  : — 

"(4)  AND  THE  POPULACE  remained  divided,  SOME 
TAKING  PART  WITH  THE  JEWS,  AND  SOME  WITH  THE 
APOSTLES,  cleaving  to  thetn  through  the  tvord  of  God.  (5) 
And  again  the  Jews,  along  with  the  Gentiles,  roused  per- 
secution for  the  second  time,  and  having  stoned  them  they 
cast  them  out  of  the  city ;  (6)  and  fleeing  they  came  into 
Lycaonia,  to  a  certain  city  called  LYSTRA,  AND  DERBE,  AND 
THE  whole  SURROUNDING  REGION  ;  (7)  AND  THEY  WERE 
THERE  ENGAGED  IN  PREACHING,  and  the  entire  population 
was  moved  at  the  teaching;  but  Paul  and  Barnabas 
continued  in  Lystra." 

In  this  text  the  Pauline  myth  has  been  considerably 
developed.      The  disciples  cling  to  the  Apostles,  are  per- 


1 14  Foundation  of  the  Chtrches  of  Galatia.    Chap.  V. 

secuted  with  them,  accompany  their  flight,  and  preach 
in  the  surrounding  Region,  while  Paul  and  Barnabas 
spent  their  time  at  Lystra.  But  the  enlarged  text  moves 
in  the  atmosphere  of  the  second  century.  It  gives  us  an 
idea  of  the  difficulties  besetting  the  study  of  Acts  even 
then,  owing  to  the  changes  that  had  occurred  in  the 
surroundings  of  the  events  narrated  ;  and  it  shows  that 
these  difficulties  were  not  ignored  and  the  text  accepted 
as  inspired  and  above  comprehension,  but  facts  of  history 
were  applied  to  explain  the  difficulties. 

Accepted  Text.  Bezan    Text. 

7.  LYSTRA.     (XIV  8)  AND  (8)       AND      THERE       WAS 

AT  LYSTRA  THERE  SAT  A  THERE  A  CERTAIN  INFIRM 
CERTAIN  MAN  IMPOTENT  MAN  SITTING,  IMPOTENT  IN 
IN  HIS  FEET,  A  CRIPPLE  HIS  FEET,  WHO  FROM  HIS 
FROM  HIS  BIRTH,  WHO  CIRTH  NEVER  WALKED.  (9) 
NEVER  WALKED.  (9)  THIS  THIS  MAN  LISTENED 
MAN  WAS  A  HEARER  OF  GLADLY  TO  PAUL'S 
PAUL'S  PREACHING,  WHO,  SERMON,  AND  HE  WAS  IN 
LOOKING  FIXEDLY  ON  HIM  THE  FEAR  OF  GOD.  AND 
AND  SEEING  THAT  HE  HAS  PAUL,  LOOKING  FIXEDLY 
THE  FAITH  THAT  BELONGS  AT  HIM,  AND  DISCERNING 
TO  SALVATION,  (lO)  SAID,  THAT  HE  HAS  THE  FAITH 
WITH  A  LOUD  VOICE,  THAT  BELONGS  TO  SALVA- 
"  STAND  UP  ON  THY  FEET  TION,  (lO)  SAID,  WITH  A 
UPRIGHT".  AND  HE  LEAPED,  LOUD  VOICE,  "I  SAY  UNTO 
AND  BEGAN  TO  WALK.  THEE     IN     THE     NAME     OF 

THE  LORD  JESUS  CHRIST, 
STAND  ON  THY  FEET  UP- 
RIGHT, AND  walk".  AND 
IMMEDIATELY  ON  THE 
MOMENT  HE  LEAPED  UP, 
AND  BEGAN  TO  WALK. 


Sec.  7  Lysira.  115 

In  V.  8  we  observe  the  marked  emphasis  laid  on  the 
real  physical  incapacity  of  the  lame  man.  Though 
Luke,  as  a  rule,  carries  brevity  even  to  the  verge  of 
obscurity,  here  he  reiterates  in  three  successive  phrases, 
with  growing  emphasis,  that  the  man  was  really  lame. 
The  three  phrases  are  like  beats  of  a  hammer  :  there  is  no 
fine  literary  style  in  this  device,  but  there  is  real  force,  which 
arrests  and  compels  the  reader's  attention.  Luke  uses  the 
triple  beat  in  other  places  for  the  same  purpose,  e.g.,  XIII  6, 
"  Magian,  false  prophet,  Jew,"  and  XVI  6,  7  (according  to 
the  true  text,  p.  196). 

The  author  therefore  attached  the  utmost  importance 
to  this  point.  The  man  was  no  mendicant  pretender, 
but  one  whose  history  from  infancy  was  well  known. 
The  case  could  not  be  explained  away :  it  was  an  in- 
contestable proof  of  the  direct  Divine  power  working 
through  Paul  and  guaranteeing  his  message  to  the 
Galatic  province  as  of  Divine  origin.  The  sign  has 
extreme  importance  in  the  author's  eyes  as  a  proof  that 
Paul  carried  the  Divine  approval  in  his  new  departure 
in  Galatia,  and  we  can  better  understand  its  importance 
in  his  eyes  if  it  were  the  first  which  he  had  to  record 
on  distinct  evidence  (p.  108)  ;  but  he  attributes  to  it  no 
influence  in  turning  the  people  to  Christianity.  The 
result  was  only  to  persuade  the  populace  that  the  deities 
whom  they  worshipped  had  vouchsafed  to  visit  their 
people ;  and  at  Malta  the  same  result  followed  from 
the  wonders  which  Paul  wrought.  The  marvels  recorded 
in  Acts  are  not,  as  a  rule,  said  to  have  been  efficacious 
in  spreading  the  new  religion  ;  the  marvel  at  Philippi 
caused  suffering  and  imprisonment ;  to  the  raising  of 
Eutychus    no    eft'ect    is    ascribed.    -  The     importance    of 


[  l6  Foundation  of  the  Churches  of  Galatia,    Chap.  V. 

thss^  events  lies  rather  in  their  effect  on  the  mind  of 
the  Apostles  themselves,  who  accepted  them  as  an 
encouragement  and  a  confirmation  of  their  work.  But 
the  teaching  spread  by  convincing  the  minds  of  the 
hearers   (XIII    12). 

The  Bezan  Text  adds  several  details  which  have  the 
appearance  of  truth.  The  most  important  is  that  the 
lame  man  was  "in  the  fear  of  God,"  ?>.,  he  was  a  pagan 
of  Lystra  who  had  been  attracted  to  Judaism  before  he 
came  under  Paul's  influence :  after  some  time  Paul 
recognised  him  as  a  careful  hearer  (■^/cofei^,  corrupted 
i]Kov(T6v  in  the  Bezan  Text)  and  a  person  inclined  to- 
wards the  truth.  Several  other  authorities  give  the 
same  statement  at  different  points  and  in  varying  words  ; 
and  it  therefore  has  the  appearance  of  a  gloss  that  has 
crept  into  the  text  in  varying  forms.  It  has  however 
all  the  appearance  of  a  true  tradition  preserved  in  the 
Church ;  for  the  idea  that  he  was  a  proselyte  is  not 
likely  to  have  grown  up  falsely  in  a  Gentile  congrega- 
tion, nor  is  it  likely  to  have  lasted  long  in  such  a  con- 
gregation, even  though  true.  It  is  therefore  a  very  early 
gloss. 

8.  THE  APOSTLES  AS  GODS,  (ll)  AND  THE 
MULTITUDE,  SEEING  WHAT  PAUL  DID,  LIFTED  UP  THEIR 
VOICE  IN  THE  LYCAONIAN  TONGUE,  SAYING,  '*  THE 
GODS  HAVE  TAKEN  THE  FORM  OF  MEN  AND  HAVE 
COME  DOWN  TO  US"  ;  (l2)  AND  THEY  CALLED  BARNABAS 
ZEUS,  AND  PAUL  HERMES. 

Accepted  Text.  Bezan   Text. 

(13)   AND  THE   PRIEST  OF  (13)     AND     THE     PRIESTS 

ZEUS,      THE     GOD      BEFORE      OF       THE       GOD,       "  ZEUS 
THE   CITY,    BROUGHT   OXEN      BEFORE     THE      CIT  Y,*' 


Sec.  8. 


The  Apostles  as  Gods. 


117 


AND  GARLANDS  TO  THE  BROUGHT  OXEN  AND 
GATES,  AND  INTENDED  TO  GARLANDS  TO  THE  GATES, 
OFFER  SACRIFICE  ALONG  AND  INTENDED  TO  MAKE 
WITH    THE    MULTITUDES.  SACRIFICE     BEYOND     the 

usual  ritual  ALONG  WITH 
THE  MULTITUDES. 
(14)  AND  HEARING,  THE  APOSTLES  BARNABAS  AND 
PAUL  RENT  THEIR  GARMENTS  AND  RAN  HASTILY  OUT 
AMONG  THE  CROWD,  (15)  SHOUTING  AND  SAYING, 
"SIRS,   WHAT   IS   THIS   YE   DO?      WE 

ALSO  ARE  MEN  OF  LIKE  ARE  MEN  OF  LIKE  NATURE 
NATURE  TO  YOU,  BRINGING  TO  YOU,  BRINGING  YOU 
YOU  THE  GLAD  NEWS  TO  THE  GLAD  NEWS  OF  THE 
TURN  FROM  THESE  VAIN  GOD,  THAT  YOU  MAY 
ONES  TO  GOD  THE  LIVING,  TURN  FROM  THESE  VAIN 
WHICH  MADE  THE  HEAVEN  ONES  TO  THE  GOD,  THE 
AND  THE  EARTH  AND  THE  LIVING,  WHICH  MADE  THE 
SEA  AND  EVERYTHING  IN  HEAVEN  AND  THE  EARTH 
THEM.  AND  THE  SEA  AND    EVERY- 

THING IN  THEM. 
(16)  WHO  IN  THE  BYGONE  GENERATIONS  LEFT  ALL 
THE  NATIONS  TO  GO  IN  THEIR  OWN  WAYS.  (17)  AND 
YET  HE  LEFT  NOT  HIMSELF  WITHOUT  WITNESS,  IN  THAT 
HE  DID  GOOD,  GIVING  YOU  FROM  HEAVEN  RAINS  AND 
FRUITFUL  SEASONS,  FILLING  YOUR  HEARTS  WITH  FOOD 
AND  GLADNESS."  (18)  AND,  SAYING  THIS,  THEY  SCARCE 
RESTRAINED  THE  MULTITUDES  FROM  DOING  SACRIFICE 
UNTO    THEM. 

\nv.   12  the  Accepted  Text  contains  a  gloss,  which  is 
rightly  omitted  in  one  old  Latin  Version  (i7.). 

Paul  is  here  the  Messenger  of  the  Supreme  God  (p.  84) : 
he  says  in  Gal  IV  14,  "  ye  received  me  as  a  Messenger  of 


1 1 8  Foundation  of  the  Churches  of  Galatia.    Chap.  V. 

God  ".  The  coincidence,  as  Prof.  Rendel  Harris  points  out, 
is  interesting. 

The  Bezan  Text  has  in  several  details  the  advantage  of 
local  accuracy — the  plural  "priests,"  the  title  "Zeus  be- 
fore the  city,"  the  phrase  "the  God,"  the  "extra-sacrifice". 
Dr.  Blass  rejects  the  Bezan  reading  "  priests  "  on  the  ground 
that  there  was  only  one  priest  of  a  single  god ;  but  there 
was  regularly  a  college  of  priests  at  each  of  the  great 
temples  of  Asia  Minor.  The  "God  before  the  city"  had 
in  almost  every  case  been  seated  in  his  temple  when 
there  was  no  city  ;  and  he  remained  in  his  own  sacred 
place  after  civilisation  progressed  and  a  Greek  or  Roman 
city  was  founded  in  the  neighbourhood.  According  to  the 
Bezan  Tex;t  the  proposed  sacrifice  was  an  extra  beyond  the 
ordinary  ritual  which  the  priests  performed  to  the  God. 
This  sense  of  kiriQvuv  does  not  occur  elsewhere,  but  seems 
to  lie  fairly  within  the  meaning  of  the  compound. 

Dr.  Blass,  who  is  usually  so  enthusiastic  a  supporter  of 
the  Western  Text,  rejects  these  three  variations  ;  but  they 
add  so  much  to  the  vividness  of  the  scene,  that  one  cannot, 
with  him,  regard  them  as  mere  corruptions. 

In  Asia  Minor  the  great  God  was  regularly  termed  by  his 
worshippers  "the  God";  and  Paul,  who  introduces  the 
Christian  God  to  his  Athenian  audience  as  "the  Unknown 
God,"  whom  they  have  been  worshipping,  might  be  expected 
to  use  the  familiar  term  "the  God"  to  the  Lystran  crowd. 
Here,  probability  favours  the  originality  of  the  Bezan  Text. 

There  remain  some  serious  difficulties  in  this  episode : 
Dr.  Blass  rejects  the  idea  of  some  commentators  that  the 
sacrifice  was  prepared  at  the  gates  of  the  temple ;  and  ex- 
plains that  the  priests  came  from  the  temple  before  the  city 
to  the  gates  of  the  city.      But  in  that  case  Lukan  usage 


Sec.  8.  The  Apostles  as  Gods.  119 


would  lead  us  to  expect  ttvM  (cp.  IX  24,  XVI  13),  rather 
than  iTvXoiv  (cp.  X  17,  XII  13,  14).  Another  difficulty 
occurs  in  v.  14.  Dr.  Blass's  explanation  is  that  the  Apostles 
had  gone  home  after  healing  the  lame  man,  and  there  heard 
what  was  going  on  and  hurried  forth  from  their  house.  This 
explanation  is  not  convincing.  Probably  a  better  knowledge 
of  the  localities  might  make  the  narrative  clearer :  it  has 
been  for  years  a  dream  of  mine  to  make  some  excavations 
at  Lystra,  in  the  hope  of  illustrating  this  interesting  episode. 
One  suggestion,  however,  may  be  made.  The  college  of 
priests  probably  prepared  their  sacrifice  at  the  outer  gate- 
way of  the  temple-grounds,  because,  being  no  part  of  the 
ordinary  ritual,  it  could  not  be  performed  on  one  of  the 
usual  places,  and  because  they  wished  the  multitudes  to 
take  part;  whereas  sacrifice  at  the  city-gates  seems  im- 
probable for  many  reasons.  Then  as  the  day  advanced, 
the  Apostles,  who  were  continuing  their  missionary  work, 
heard  that  the  priests  and  people  were  getting  ready  to 
celebrate  the  Epiphany  of  the  Gods  ;  and  they  hurried 
forth  from  the  city  to  the  temple. 

The  use  of  the  Lycaonian  language  shows  that  the 
worshippers  were  not  the  Roman  coloni,  the  aristocracy  of 
the  colony,  but  the  natives,  the  less  educated  and  more 
superstitious  part  of  the  population  {incolcz,  p.  218). 

9.  DERBE.  (XIV  19)  AND  THERE  CAME  JEWS 
FROM  ANTIOCH  AND  ICONIUM  ;  AND  THEY  PERSUADED 
THE  MULTITUDES  AND  STONED  PAUL  AND  DRAGGED 
his  body  OUT  OF  THE  CITY,  CONSIDERING  THAT  HE 
WAS  DEAD.  (20)  BUT,  WHEN  THE  DISCIPLES  ENCIRCLED 
HIM,  HE  STOOD  UP  AND  WENT  INTO  THE  CITY  ;  AND 
ON  THE  MORROW  HE  WENT  FORTH  WITH  BARNABAS 
TO  DERBE.  (21)  AND  THEY  PREACHED  THE  GLAD 
NEWS    TO    THAT    CITY    AND    MADE    MANY    DISCIPLES. 


I20  Foundation  of  the  Churches  of  Galatia.    Chap.  V. 

It  is  interesting  to  observe  the  contrast  between  the 
emphasis  of  XIV  8  and  the  cautiousness  of  statement 
in  XIV  19.  The  writer  considered  that  there  was  full 
evidence  as  to  the  real  condition  of  the  lame  man ; 
but  all  that  he  can  guarantee  in  XIV  19  is  that  his 
persecutors  considered  Paul  to  be  dead  :  and  beyond  that 
he  does  not  go.  As  usual,  he  simply  states  the  facts, 
and  leaves  the  reader  to  judge  for  himself.  A  writer 
who  tried  to  find  marvels  would  have  found  one  here,  and 
said  so. 

In  Derbe  nothing  special  is  recorded  :  the  same  pro- 
cess went  on  as  in  previous  cases.  Here  on  the  limits 
of  the  Roman  province  the  Apostles  turned.  New 
magistrates  had  now  come  into  office  in  all  the  cities 
whence  they  had  been  driven ;  and  it  was  therefore 
possible   to  go   back. 

10.  ORGANISATION  OF  THE  NEW  CHURCHES. 
<XIV  21)  THEY  RETURNED  TO  LYSTRA  AND  TO  ICONIUM 
AND  TO  ANTIOCH,  (22)  CONFIRMING  THE  SOULS  OF 
THE  DISCIPLES,  EXHORTING  THEM  TO  CONTINUE  IN 
THE  FAITH,  AND  THAT  THROUGH  MANY  TRIBULATIONS 
WE  MUST  ENTER  INTO  THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD.  (23) 
AND  WHEN  THEY  HAD  APPOINTED  FOR  THEM  ELDERS 
IN  EVERY  CHURCH,  AND  HAD  PRAYED  WITH  FASTING, 
THEY  COMMENDED  THEM  TO  THE  LORD,  ON  WHOM 
THEY    HAD    BELIEVED. 

On  the  return  journey  the  organisation  of  the  newly 
founded  churches  occupied  Paul's  attention.  It  is  probable 
that,  in  his  estimation,  some  definite  organisation  was 
implied  in  the  idea  of  a  church ;  and  until  the  brother- 
hood in  a  city  was  organised,  it  was  not  in  the  strictest 
sense  a  church.     In  this  passage  we  see  that  the  funda- 


Sec.  lo.     Organisation  of  the  A^ew  Churches.         121 

mental  part  of  the  Church  organisation  lay  in  the 
appointment  of  Elders  {Trpea/Svrepot).  In  XIII  i  we 
found  that  there  were  prophets  and  teachers  in  the 
Antiochian  church  ;  here  nothing  is  said  about  appoint- 
ing them,  but  the  reason  indubitably  is  that  prophets 
and  teachers  required  Divine  grace,  and  could  not 
be  appointed  by  men  :  they  were  accepted  when  the 
grace  was  found  to  have  been  given  them. 

Paul  used  the  word  Bishops  (eViWoTrot)  as  equivalent 
to  Elders.  This  is  specially  clear  in  XX,  where  he 
summoned  the  Ephesian  Elders,  v.  17,  and  said 
to  them:  "the  Holy  Spirit  hath  made  you  Bishops," 
verse  28.  It  is  therefore  certain  that  the  "  Bishops  and 
Deacons"  at  Philippi  (Phzt.  I  i)  are  the  Elders  and 
Deacons,  who  were  the  constituted  officials  of  the 
Church.  The  Elders  are  also  to  be  understood  as  "  the 
rulers  "  (TrpocaTdfievoi)  at  Rome  and  Thessalonica  (^Rovi. 
XII  8,  I  Thess.  V  12).  Both  terms.  Elders  and  Bishops, 
occur  in  the  Epistles  to  Titus  and  Timothy  ;  but  it 
is  plain  from   Tit.   I   5-7  that  they  are  synonymous. 

It  is  clear,  therefore,  that  Paul  everywhere  instituted 
Elders  in  his  new  Churches ;  and  on  our  hypothesis  as 
to  the  accurate  and  methodical  expression  of  the  historian, 
we  are  bound  to  infer  that  this  first  case  is  intended  to 
be  typical  of  the  way  of  appointment  followed  in  all 
later  cases.  When  Paul  directed  Titus  (I  5)  to  appoint 
Elders  in  each  Cretan  city,  he  was  doubtless  thinking 
of  the  same  method  which  he  followed  here.  Unfortu- 
nately, the  term  used  {yeiporovTqaavre'^^  is  by  no  means 
certain  in  meaning  ;  for,  though  originally  it  meant  to 
etect  by  popular  vote,  yet  it  came  to  be  used  in  the  sense 
to  appoint  or  designate  {eg.,  Acts  X  41).     But  it   is  not 


1 2  2  Foundation  of  the  Churches  of  Galatia.    Chap.  V. 

in  keeping  with  our  conception  of  the  precise  and 
often  pragmatically  accurate  expression  of  Luke,  that  he 
should  in  this  passage  have  used  the  term  '^(eipoTov)]- 
(TavTe<i,  unless  he  intended  its  strict  sense.  If  he  did 
not  mean  it  strictly,  the  term  is  fatally  ambiguous, 
where  definiteness  is  specially  called  for.  It  must,  1  think, 
be  allowed  that  the  votes  and  voice  of  each  congrega- 
tion were  considered ;  and  the  term  is  obviously  used 
in  that  way  by  Paul,    II    Cor.  VIII    19. 

It  is  also  apparent  that  a  certain  influence  to  be 
exercised  by  himself  is  implied  in  the  instructions 
given  to  Titus  (I  5)  ;  but  those  instructions  seem  only  to 
mean  that  Titus,  as  a  sort  of  presiding  officer,  is  to 
instruct  the  people  what  conditions  the  person  chosen 
must  satisfy,  and  perhaps  to  reject  unsuitable  candi- 
dates. Candidature,  perhaps  of  a  merely  informal 
character,  is  implied  in  I  Tim.  Ill  i  ;  but,  of  course,  if 
election  has  any  scope  at  all,  candidature  goes  along  with  it. 

The  procedure,  then,  seems  to  be  not  dissimilar  to 
Roman  elections  of  magistrates,  in  which  the  presiding 
magistrate  subjected  all  candidates  to  a  scrutiny  as  to 
their  qualifications,  and  had  large  discretion  in  rejecting 
those  whom  he  considered  unsuitable. 
—  Finally,  it  is  stated  in  XX  28  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
made  men  Bishops  ;  but  this  expression  is  fully  satisfied 
by  what  may  safely  be  assumed  as  the  final  stage  of  the 
appointment,  viz.,  the  Bishops  elect  were  submitted  to 
the  Divine  approval  at  the  solemn  prayer  and  fast 
which  accompanied  their  appointment.  This  meeting 
and  rite  of  fasting,  which  Paul  celebrated  in  each  city 
on  his  return  journey,  is  to  be  taken  as  the  form  that 
was  to  be  permanently  observed  (cp.  XIII   3). 


Sec.  io.      Organisation  of  the  New  Churches.       12 


These  inferences  seem  to  follow  naturally  from  the 
authorities  to   whom  we  have  restricted   ourselves. 

The  use  of  the  first  person  plural  in  v.  22  is  not 
personal,  but  general ;  Paul  impressed  on  them  the 
universal  truth  that  "  we  Christians "  can  enter  the  king- 
dom of  God  by  no  other  path  than  that  of  suffering. 
At  the  same  time  the  author,  by  using  the  first  person, 
associates  himself  with  the  principle,  not  as  one  of  the 
audience  at  the  time,  but  as  one  who  strongly  realised 
its  truth.  This  is  one  of  the  few  personal  touches  in 
Acts ;  and  we  must  gather  from  it  that,  at  the  time 
when  he  was  writing,  the  principle  was  strongly  im- 
pressed on  him  by  circumstances.  I  can  understand  this 
personal  touch,  in  comparison  with  the  studious  suppres- 
sion of  personal  feelings  and  views  throughout  Acts,  in 
no  other  way  than  by  supposing  that  Luke  was  com- 
posing this  history  during  a  time  of  special  persecution. 
On  that  supposition  the  expression  is  luminous ;  but 
otherwise  it  stands  in  marked  contrast  to  the  style  of 
Acts.  Now  evidence  from  a  different  line  of  reasoning 
points  to  the  conclusion  that  Luke  was  writing  this 
second  book  of  his  history  under  Domitian,  the  second 
great  persecutor  (Ch.  XVII). 

II.  PISIDIA  AND  PAMPHYLIA.  (XIV  24)  AND 
HAVING  MADE  A  MISSIONARY  JOURNEY  THROUGH 
PISIDIA,  THEY  CAME  INTO  PAMPHYLIA  ;  (25)  AND 
AFTER  HAVING  SPOKEN  THE  WORD  IN  PERGA,  THEY 
CAME  DOWN  TO  the  harbour  ATTALEIA  ;  (26)  AND  FROM 
THENCE  THEY  SAILED  AWAY  TO  ANTIOCH,  WHENCE 
THEY  HAD  BEEN  COMMITTED  TO  THE  GRACE  OF  GOD 
FOR  THE  WORK  WHICH  THEY  FULFILLED.  {2y)  AND 
REACHING   ANTIOCH,   AND  HOLDING  A  MEETING   OF   THT. 


y 


124  Foundation  of  the  Churches  of  Galatia.    Chap.  \. 

CHURCH,  THEY  PROCEEDED  TO  ANNOUNCE  ALL  THAT 
GOD  DID  WITH  THEM,  AND  THAT  HE  OPENED  TO  THE 
NATIONS    THE   GATE   OF    BELIEF  (see   p.    85). 

Next,  the  journey  goes  on  from  Antioch  {v.  21),  leading 
first  into  Pisidia,  a  Region  of  the  province  Galatia,  and 
then  into  the  province  Pamphylia.  It  is  clearly  implied 
that  Pisidian  Antioch  was  not  in  Pisidia  ;  and,  strange  as 
that  seems,  it  is  correct  (p.  104).  Any  Church  founded  in 
Pisidia  would  rank  along  with  those  founded  in  Galatic 
Phrygia  and  Galatic  Lycaonia  as  one  of  "  the  Churches  of 
Galatia " ;  but  neither  Pisidia  nor  Pamphylia  plays  any 
further  part  in  early  Christian  history.  There  was,  how- 
ever, a  Pauline  tradition  at  Adada. 

Attaleia  seems  to  be  mentioned  here  solely  as  the 
port  of  departure  (though  they  had  formerly  sailed  direct 
up  the  Cestrus  to  Perga).  Not  catching  Luke's  fondness 
for  details  connected  with  the  sea  and  harbours  (p.  20), 
the  Bezan  Reviser  reads :  "  they  came  down  to  Attaleia, 
giving  them  the  good  news ". 

12.  THE  CHURCHES.  In  Lukan  and  Pauline 
language  two  meanings  are  found  of  the  term  Ecclesia. 
It  means  originally  simply  "  an  assembly " ;  and,  as  em- 
ployed by  Paul  in  his  earliest  Epistles,  it  may  be 
rendered  "  the  congregation  of  the  Thessalonians  ".  It 
is  then  properly  construed  with  the  genitive,  denoting 
the  assembly  of  this  organised  society,  to  which  any  man 
of  Thessalonica  may  belong  if  he  qualifies  for  it.  The  term 
Ecclesia  originally  implied  that  the  assembled  members  con- 
stituted a  self-governing  body  like  a  free  Greek  city  (TroXt?). 
Ancient  religious  societies  were  commonly  organised  on  the 
model  of  city  organisation.  The  term  was  adopted  in  the 
Septuagint,  and  came  into  ordinary  use  among  Grecian  Jews. 


Sec.  12.  The  Churches.  125 

Gradually  Paul's  idea  of  "  the  Unified  Church  "  became 
definite ;  and,  with  the  true  philosophic  instinct,  he  felt 
the  need  of  a  technical  term  to  indicate  the  idea. 
Ecdesia  was  the  word  that  forced  itself  on  him.  But 
in  the  new  sense  it  demanded  a  new  construction  ;  it 
was  no  longer  "the  church  of  the  Thessalonians,"  but 
"the  Church  in  Corinth";  and  it  was  necessarily  singular, 
for  there  was  only  one  Church. 

The  new  usage  grew  naturally  in  the  mind  of  a 
statesman,  animated  with  the  instinct  of  administration, 
and  gradually  coming  to  realise  the  combination  of 
imperial  centralisation  and  local  home  rule,  which  is 
involved  in  the  conception  of  a  self-governing  unity, 
the  Universal  Church,  consisting  of  many  parts,  widely 
separated  in  space.  Each  of  these  parts  must  govern 
itself  in  its  internal  relations,  because  it  is  distant  from 
other  parts,  and  yet  each  is  merely  a  piece  carved  out  of 
the  homogeneous  whole,  and  each  finds  its  justification 
and  perfect  ideal  in  the  whole.  That  was  a  conception 
analogous  to  the  Roman  view,  that  every  group  of 
Roman  citizens  meeting  together  in  a  body  {convcntus 
Civium  Romanoruin)  in  any  part  of  the  vast  Empire  formed 
a  part  of  the  great  conception  "  Rome,"  and  that  such 
a  group  was  not  an  intelligible  idea,  except  as  a  piece 
of  the  great  unity.  Any  Roman  citizen  who  came  to 
any  provincial  town  where  such  a  group  existed  was 
forthwith  a  member  of  the  group  ;  and  the  group  was 
simply  a  fragment  of  "  Rome,"  cut  off  in  space  from 
the  whole  body,  but  preserving  its  vitality  and  self- 
identity  as  fully  as  when  it  was  joined  to  the  whole, 
and  capable  of  re-uniting  with  the  whole  as  soon  as 
the   estranging    space    was   annihilated.       Such    was    the 


126  Foundation  of  the  Churches  of  Galatia.    Chap.  V. 

Roman  constitutional  theory,  and  such  was  the  Pauline 
theory.  The  actual  working  of  the  Roman  theory  was 
complicated  by  the  numberless  imperfect  forms  of  citizen- 
ship, such  as  the  provincial  status  (for  the  provincials 
were  neither  Romans  nor  foreigners  ;  they  were  in  the 
State  yet  not  of  the  State),  and  other  points  in  which 
mundane  facts  were  too  stubborn  ;  and  it  was  impeded  by 
failure  to  attain  full  consciousness  of  its  character.  The 
Pauline  theory  was  carried  out  with  a  logical  thorough- 
ness and  consistency  which  the  Roman  theory  could 
never  attain  in  practice  ;  but  it  is  hardly  doubtful  that, 
whether  or  not  Paul  himself  was  conscious  that  the  full 
realisation  of  his  idea  could  only  be  the  end  of  a  long 
process  of  growth  and  not  the  beginning,  his  successors 
carried  out  his  theory  with  a  disregard  of  the  mundane 
facts  of  national  and  local  diversity  that  produced 
serious  consequences.  They  waged  relentless  war  within 
the  bounds  of  the  Empire  against  all  provincial  distinc- 
tions of  language  and  character,  they  disregarded  the 
force  of  associations  and  early  ties,  and  aimed  at  an 
absolute  uniformity  that  was  neither  healthy  nor  attain- 
able in  human  nature.  The  diversities  which  they  ejected 
returned  in  other  ways,  and  crystallised  in  Christian 
forms,  as  the  local  saints  who  gradually  became  more 
real  and  powerful  in  the  religious  thought  and  practice 
of  each  district  than  the  true  Christian  ideas  ;  and,  as 
degeneration  proceeded,  the  heads  of  the  Church 
acquiesced  more  and  more  contentedly  in  a  nominal 
and  ceremonial  unity  that  had  lost  reality. 

As  is  natural,  Paul  did  not  abandon  the  old  and 
familiar  usage  of  the  term  Ecclesia,  when  the  new  and 
more   technical    usage   developed    in   his    mind    and    Ian- 


Sec.  12.  The  Churches.  12' 


guage.  The  process  is  apparent  in  Gal.  I  13,  where 
the  new  sense  occurs,  though  hardly  as  yet,  perhaps, 
with  full  consciousness  and  intention.  Elsewhere  in 
that  letter  the  term  is  used  in  the  old  sense,  "the 
Churches  of  Galatia  ".  In  I  Cor.  I  2  the  new  sense  of 
Ecclesia  is  deliberately  and  formally  employed. 

The  term  Ecclesia  is  used  in  Acts  in  both  these 
ways,  and  an  examination  of  the  distinction  throws 
some  light  on  the  delicacy  of  expression  in  the  book. 
It  occurs  in  the  plural  sense  of  "congregations"  or 
"every  congregation"  in  XIV  23,  XV  41,  XVI  5. 
In  each  of  these  cases  it  is  used  about  Paul's  work  in 
the  period  when  he  was  employing  the  term  in  its 
earlier  sense ;  and  there  is  a  fine  sense  of  language  in 
saying  at  that  period  that  Paul  went  over  the  con- 
gregations which  he  had  founded  in  Syria  and  Cilicia 
and  in  Galatia.  In  all  other  cases  (in  the  Eastern 
Text  at  least),  Luke  uses  Ecclesia  in  the  singular,  in 
some  cases  markedly  in  the  sense  of  the  Unified 
Church  {e.g.,  IX  31),  in  some  cases  as  "the  Church  in 
Jerusalem"  (VIII  i),  and  in  some  cases  very  pointedly 
"the  Church  in  so  far  as  it  was  in  Jerusalem"  or  "in 
Antioch"  (XI  22,  XIII  i) ;  and  in  some  cases  where 
the  sense  "congregation"  might  be  permitted  by  the 
context,  the  sense  of  "the  Church"  gives  a  more 
satisfactory    meaning. 

The  author,  therefore,  when  he  speaks  in  his  own 
person,  stands  on  the  platform  of  the  developed  Pauline 
usage,  and  uses  Ecclesia  in  the  sense  of  "the  single 
Unified  Church,"  but  where  there  is  a  special  dramatic 
appropriateness  in  employing  the  earlier  Pauline  term  to 
describe  Paul's  work,  he  employs  the  early  term. 


128  Foundation  of  the  Churches  of  Galatia.    Chap.  V. 

An  exception  occurs  to  this  rule,  in  an  addition  of 
the  Bezan  Text,  according  to  which  Apollos  went  to 
xAchaia  and  contributed  much  to  strengthening  the  con- 
gregations (rai?  eKKXTja-laa).  We  have  here  not  the 
original  words  of  Luke,  but  an  addition  (as  I  believe, 
trustworthy  in  point  of  fact)  made  by  a  second  century 
Reviser,  imitating  passages  like  XV  41,  XVI  5,  Gat.  I. 
2,  22.  This  case  stands  in  close  analogy  to  IX  31, 
where  many  authorities  have  (Codex  Bezcs  is  defective) 
"the  Ecclesiai  throughout  the  whole  of  Judxa  and 
Galilee  and  Samaria,"  but  the  singular  is  used  in 
the  Accepted    Text   founded    on    the   great    MSS. 

Note  I.  Date.  On  our  view  this  journey  began  in  March 
47,  and  ended  about  July  or  August  49. 

Note  2.  Declension  o{ Lystra.  The  variation  in  the  declen- 
sion of  the  word  Lystra"^  is  sometimes  taken  as  a  sign  that 
the  author  employed  two  different  written  authorities  (in  one 
of  which  the  word  was  declined  as  feminine  singular  and  in  the 
other  as  neuter  plural),  and  followed  them  implicitly,  using 
in  each  case  the  form  employed  in  the  authority  whom  he 
was  following  at  the  moment.  This  suggestion  has  con- 
vinced neither  Spitta  nor  Clemen,  who  both  assign  XVI 
1-3  to  one  author.  Only  the  most  insensate  and  in- 
capable of  compilers  would  unawares  use  the  double 
declension  twice  in  consecutive  sentences.  The  author, 
whoever  he  was  and  whenever  he  lived,  certainly  con- 
sidered that  the  proper  declension  of  the  name  was 
Av(7Tpoi<i,   Avarpav  ;   and    the   only   question   is   this :   was 

•Accusative  Avarpau  XIV  6,  XVI  i,  dative  Avarpois  XIV  8, 
XVI   2. 


Note  2.  Declension  of  Lysfra.  129 

that  variation  customary  in  the  Lystran  Greek  usage  ? 
If  it  was  customary,  then  its  employment  in  Acts  is  a 
marked  proof  of  first-hand  local  knowledge,  and  if  it 
was  not  customary,  the  opposite.  We  have  unfortunately 
no  authorities  for  the  Lystran  usage :  the  city  name 
occurs  in  the  inscriptions  only  in  the  nominative  case, 
Lustra.  It  is  certain  that  many  names  in  Asia  Minor, 
such  as  Myra,  etc.,  occur  both  in  feminine  singular  and  in 
neuter  plural ;  but  there  is  no  evidence  as  to  any  local 
usage  appropriating  certain  cases  to  each  form.  Excava- 
tions on  the  site  may  yield  the  needed  evidence  to  test 
the  accuracy  of  this  detail. 

One  indirect  piece  of  evidence  may  be  added.  Myra 
is  an  analogous  name.  Now  the  local  form  of  accus.  was 
Mvpav,  for  the  Turkish  Dembre  comes  from  rrjv  M^pa{i')y 
i.e.  (ei?)  rrjv  Mvpav.  [It  is  most  probable  that  in  XXVII  5, 
Mvpav  (or  Mvppav)  should  be  read,  not  Mvpa.]  I  know  no- 
evidence  as  to  the  local  form  of  the  dative  ;  but  the  genitive 
appears  as  Mvpav  in  the  signatures  of  bishops. 

Incidentally  we  notice  that  the  name  of  the  city  is  spelt 
Lustra,  not  Lystra  (like  Prymnessos),  on  coins  and  inscrip- 
tions. That  is  an  indication  of  Latin  tone,  and  of  the 
desire  to  make  the  city  name  a  Latin  word.  People  who 
called  their  city  Lustra  would  have  distinguished  them- 
selves pointedly  from  the  Lycaonians,  the  subjects  of 
King  Antiochus  and  mentioned  in  that  way  on  his  coins. 


CHAPTER  VL 

ST.  PAUL  IN  GALATIA. 

1.  THE  IMPERIAL  AND  THE  CHRISTIAN  POLICY. 
When  Paul  passed  out  of  Pamphylia  into  Galatia,  he 
went  out  of  a  small  province,  which  was  cut  off  from  the 
main  line  of  historical  and  political  development,  into  a 
great  province  that  lay  on  that  line.  The  history  of 
Asia  Minor  at  that  time  had  its  central  motive  in  the 
transforming  and  educative  process  which  the  Roman 
imperial  policy  was  trying  to  carry  out  in  the  country. 
In  Pamphylia  that  process  was  languidly  carried  out 
by  a  governor  of  humble  rank ;  but  Galatia  was  the 
frontier  province,  and  the  immense  social  and  educational 
changes  involved  in  the  process  of  romanising  an 
oriental  land  were  going  on  actively  in  it.  We  proceed 
to  inquire  in  what  relation  the  new  Pauline  influence 
stood  to  the  questions  that  were  agitating  the  province. 

What,  then,  was  the  character  of  Roman  policy  and 
the  line  of  educational  advance  in  the  districts  of  Galatic 
Phrygia  and  Galatic  Lycaonia ;  and  what  were  the 
forces  opposing  the  Roman  policy  ? 

The  aim  of  Roman  policy  may  be  defined  as  the 
unification  and  education  in  Roman  ideas  of  the  pro- 
vince ;  and  its  general  effect  may  be  summed  up  under 
four  heads,  which  we  shall  discuss  in  detail,  comparing 
in   each   case  the   effect   produced   or   aimed   at   by  the 


Sec.  I.     The  Imperial  and  the  Christian  Policy.     131 

Church.  We  enumerate  the  heads,  not  in  order  of  im- 
portance, but  in  the  order  that  best  brings  out  the  re- 
lation between  Imperial  influence  and  Church  influence : 
(i)  relation  to  Greek  civilisation  and  language  :  (2)  develop- 
ment of  an  educated  middle  class :  (3)  growth  of  unity 
over  the  Empire :    (4)  social  facts. 

(i)  The  Roman  influence  would  be  better  defined  as 
"  Graeco-Roman  ".  Previous  to  Roman  domination,  the 
Greek  civilisation,  though  fostered  in  the  country  by  the 
Greek  kings  of  Syria  and  Pergamos,  who  had  successively 
ruled  the  country,  had  failed  to  affect  the  people  as  a  body ; 
it  had  been  confined  to  the  coast  valleys  of  the  Hermus, 
Cayster,  Maeander  and  Lycus,  and  to  the  garrison  cities 
founded  on  the  great  central  plateau  by  the  kings  to 
strengthen  their  hold  on  the  country.  These  cities  were 
at  the  same  time  centres  of  Greek  manners  and  education; 
their  language  was  Greek  ;  and,  in  the  midst  of  alien 
tribes,  their  interests  naturally  coincided  with  those  of  the 
kings  who  had  founded  them. 

The  Roman  Government,  far  from  being  opposed  to 
Greek  influence,  acted  in  steady  alliance  with  it.  It 
adopted  the  manners  of  Greece,  and  even  recognised  the 
Greek  language  for  general  use  in  the  Eastern  pro- 
vinces. Rome  was  so  successful,  because  she  almost 
always  yielded  to  the  logic  of  facts.  The  Greek  influence 
was,  on  the  whole,  European  and  Western  in  character  ; 
and  opposed  to  the  oriental  stagnation  which  resisted 
Roman  educative  efforts.  Rome  accepted  the  Greek 
language  as  her  ally.  Little  attempt  was  made  to 
naturalise  the  Latin  language  in  the  East ;  and  even  the 
Roman  colonies  in  the  province  of  Galatia  soon  ceased 
to   use    Latin    except   on   state   occasions   and   in   a   few 


132  SL  Paul  in  Galatia.  Chap,  VI. 

formal  documents.  A  Graeco-Roman  civilisation  using 
the  Greek  language  was  the  type  which  Rome  aimed  at 
establishing  in  the  East. 

The  efforts  of  Rome  to  naturalise  Western  culture  in 
Asia  Minor  were  more  successful  than  those  of  the  Greek 
kings  had  been  ;  but  still  they  worked  at  best  very  slowly. 
The  evidence  of  inscriptions  tends  to  show  that  the 
Phrygian  language  was  used  in  rural  parts  of  the  country 
during  the  second  and  even  the  third  century.  In  some 
remote  and  rustic  districts  it  persisted  even  until  the  fourth 
century,  as  Celtic  did  in  parts  of  North  Galatia. 

The  Christian  influence  was  entirely  in  favour  of  the 
Greek  language.  The  rustics  clung  longest  to  Paganism, 
while  the  Greek-speaking  population  of  the  cities  adopted 
Christianity.  It  is  not  probable  that  any  attempt  was 
made  to  translate  the  Christian  sacred  books  into  Phrygian 
or  Lycaonian ;  there  is  not  even  any  evidence  that  evan- 
gelisation in  these  languages  was  ever  attempted.  The 
Christians  seem  to  have  been  all  expected  to  read  the 
Scriptures  in  Greek.  That  fact  was  sufficient  to  put  the 
Church,  as  regards  its  practical  effect  on  society,  on  the 
same  side  as  the  romanising  influence ;  and  the  effect  was 
quite  independent  of  any  intentional  policy.  The  most 
zealous  enemy  of  the  imperial  Antichrist  was  none  the 
less  effective  in  aiding  the  imperial  policy  by  spreading 
the  official  language.  In  fact,  Christianity  did  far  more 
thoroughly  what  the  emperors  tried  to  do.  It  was  really 
their  best  ally,  if  they  had  recognised  the  facts  of  the  case  ; 
and  the  Christian  Apologists  of  the  second  century  are 
justified  in  claiming  that  their  religion  was  essentially  a 
loyal  religion, 

(2)  The  Empire  had  succeeded  in  imposing  its  languages 


Sec.  I.     The  Imperial  and  the  Christian  Policy. 


OJ 


on  the  central  districts  of  Asia  only  so  far  as  education 
spread.  Every  one  who  wrote  or  read,  wrote  and  read 
Greek  ;  but  those  who  could  do  neither  used  the  native 
language.  Hence  inscriptions  were  almost  universally  ex- 
pressed in  Greek,  for  even  the  most  illiterate,  if  they  aspired 
to  put  an  epitaph  on  a  grave,  did  so  in  barbarous  (some- 
times unintelligible)  Greek ;  the  desire  for  an  epitaph 
was  the  first  sign  of  desire  for  education  and  for  Greek. 

In  education  lay  the  most  serious  deficiency  of  the 
imperial  policy.  Rome  cannot  be  said  to  have  seriously 
attempted  to  found  an  educational  system  either  in  the 
provinces  or  in  the  metropolis.  "  The  education  imparted 
on  a  definite  plan  by  the  State  did  not  go  beyond  in- 
stituting a  regular  series  of  amusements,  some  of  a  rather 
brutahsing  tendency"  {Church  in  R.  E.,  p.  360).  And 
precisely  in  this  point,  Christianity  came  in  to  help  the 
Imperial  Government,  recognising  the  duty  of  educating, 
as  well  as  feeding  and  amusing,  the  mass  of  the  population. 
The  theory  of  universal  education  for  the  people  has  never 
been  more  boldly  and  thoroughly  stated  than  by  Tatian 
{ibid.  p.  345).  "  The  weak  side  of  the  Empire — the  cause 
of  the  ruin  of  the  first  Empire — was  the  moral  deterioration  ly^ 
of  the  lower  classes  :  Christianity,  if  adopted  in  time, 
might  have  prevented  this  result." 

Now,  the  classes  where  education  and  work  go  hand  in 
hand  were  the  first  to  come  under  the  influence  of  the  new 
religion.  On  the  one  hand  the  uneducated  and  grossly 
superstitious  rustics  were  unaffected  by  it.  On  the  other 
hand,  there  were  "  not  many  wise,  not  many  mighty,  not 
many  noble"  in  the  Churches  of  the  first  century,  i.e., 
not  many  professional  teachers  of  wisdom  and  philosophy, 
not  many  of  the  official  and  governing  class,  not  many  of 


^134  <S^-  Paul  in   Galatia.  Chap.  VI. 

the  hereditarily  privileged  class.  But  the  working  and 
thinking  classes,  with  the  students,  if  not  the  Professors, 
at  the  Universities,  were  attracted  to  the  new  teaching  ; 
and  it  spread  among  them  with  a  rapidity  that  seemed  to 
many  modern  critics  incredible  and  fabulous,  till  it  was 
justified  by  recent  discoveries.  The  enthusiasm  of  the 
period  was  on  the  side  of  the  Christians ;  its  dilet- 
tantism, officialism,  contentment  and  self-satisfaction 
were  against  them. 

In  respect  of  education  Christianity  appears  as  filling  a 
gap  in  the  imperial  policy,  supplementing,  not  opposmg 
it — a  position  which,  though  it  earns  no  gratitude  and 
often  provokes  hatred,  implies  no  feeling  of  opposition  in 
the  giver. 

(3)  Again,  the  main  effort  of  Roman  policy  was  directed 
towards  encouraging  a  sense  of  unity  and  patriotism  in  the 
Empire.  It  discouraged  the  old  tribal  and  national 
divisions,  which  kept  the  subject  population  in  their  pre- 
Roman  associations,  and  substituted  new  divisions. 
Patriotism  in  ancient  time  was  inseparable  from  religious 
feeling,  and  Roman  policy  fostered  a  new  imperial  religion 
in  which  all  its  subjects  should  unite,  viz.^  the  worship  of 
the  divine  majesty  of  Rome  incarnate  in  human  form  in 
the  series  of  the  emperors  and  especially  in  the  reigning 
emperor.  Each  province  was  united  in  a  formal  associa- 
tion for  this  worship :  the  association  built  temples  in  the 
great  cities  of  the  province,  held  festivals  and  games,  and 
had  a  set  of  officials,  who  were  in  a  religious  point  of 
view  priests  and  in  a  political  point  of  view  officers  of  the 
imperial  service.  Everything  that  the  imperial  policy  did 
in  the  provinces  during  the  first  century  was  so  arranged 
as  to  encourage  the  unity  of  the  entire  Roman  province ; 


Sec.  I.     The  Imperial  and  the  Christian  Policy.     135 


and  the  priests  of  the  imperial  religion  became  by  insensible 
degrees  a  higher  priesthood,  exercising  a  certain  influence 
over  the  priests  of  the  other  religions  of  the  province.  In 
this  way  a  sort  of  hierarchy  was  created  for  the  province 
and  the  empire  as  a  whole ;  the  reigning  emperor  being  the 
religious  head,  the  Supreme  Pontiff  of  the  State,  and  a 
kind  of  sacerdotal  organisation  being  grouped  under  him 
according  to  the  political  provinces. 

As  time  passed,  gradually  the  Christian  Church  grouped 
itself  according  to  the  same  forms  as  the  imperial  religion, 

not  indeed  through  conscious  imitation,  but  because  the 

Church  naturally  arranged  its  external  form  according  to 
the  existing  facts  of  communication  and  interrelation. 
In  Pisidian  Antioch  a  preacher  had  unique  opportunities 
for  affecting  the  entire  territory  whose  population  resorted 
to  that  great  centre  (p.  105).  So  Perga  was  a  centre  for 
Pamphylia,  Ephesus  for  Asia.  But  the  direct  influence 
of  these  centres  was  confined  to  the  Roman  district  or 
province.  In  this  way  necessarily  and  inevitably  the 
Christian  Church  was  organised  around  the  Roman  provin- 
cial metropolis  and  according  to  the  Roman  provincial 
divisions. 

The  question  then  is,  when  did  this  organisation  of 
the  Church  begin  ?  I  can  see  no  reason  to  doubt  that  it 
began  with  Paul's  mission  to  the  West.  It  grew  out  of 
the  circumstances  of  the  country,  and  there  was  more 
absoUite  necessity  in  the  first  century  than  later,  that,  if 
the  Church  was  organised  at  all,  it  must  adapt  itself 
to  the  political  facts  of  the  time,  for  these  were  much 
stronger  in  the  first  century.  The  classification  adopted 
in  Paul's  own  letters  of  the  Churches  which  he  founded 
is  according  to  provinces,  Achaia,  Macedonia,  Asia,  and 


136  S/.  Patil  in  Galatia.  Chap.  V I. 

Galatia.  The  same  fact  is  clearly  visible  in  the  narrative 
of  Acts:  it  guides  and  inspires  the  expression  from  the 
time  when  the  Apostles  landed  at  Perga.  At  every  step 
any  one  who  knows  the  country  recognises  that  the 
Roman  division  is  implied.  There  is  only  one  way  of 
avoiding  this  conclusion,  and  that  is  to  make  up  your 
mind  beforehand  that  the  thing  is  impossible,  and  there- 
fore to  refuse  to  admit  any  evidence  for  it. 

The  issue  of  events  showed  that  the  Empire  had 
made  a  mistake  in  disregarding  so  completely  the  exist- 
ing lines  of  demarcation  between  tribes  and  races  in 
making  its  new  political  provinces.  For  a  time  it  suc- 
ceeded in  establishing  them,  while  the  energy  of  the 
Empire  was  still  fresh,  and  its  forward  movement  con- 
tinuous and  steady.  But  the  differences  of  tribal  and 
national  character  were  too  great  to  be  completely  set 
aside ;  they  revived  while  the  energy  of  the  Empire 
decayed  during  the  second  century.  Hence  every  change 
in  the  bounds  of  the  provinces  of  Asia  Minor  from  138 
onwards  was  in  the  direction  of  assimilating  them  to 
the  old  tribal  frontiers ;  and  at  last  in  295  even  the 
great  complex  province  Asia  was  broken  up  after  428 
years  of  existence,  and  resolved  into  the  old  native 
districts,  Lydia,  Caria,  Phrygia,  etc. ;  and  the  moment  that 
the  political  unity  was  dissolved  there  remained  nothing 
of  the  Roman  Asia.  But  the  ultimate  failure  of  the 
Roman  policy  must  not  blind  us  to  the  vigour  and  energy 
with  which  that  policy  was  carried  out  during  the  iirst 
century.  "Asia"  and  "Galatia"  were  only  ideas,  but 
they  were  ideas  which  the  whole  efforts  of  Roman  govern- 
ment aimed  at  making  into  realities. 

(4)  There  was  another  reason  why  the   power   of  the 


Sec.  I.     The  Imperial  and  I  he  Christian  Policy.     137 

new  religion  was  necessarily  thrown  on  the  side  of  the 
Roman  policy.  Greek  civilisation  was  strongly  opposed 
to  the  social  system  that  was  inseparably  connected  with 
the  native  religion  in  all  its  slightly  varying  forms  in 
different  localities.  The  opposition  is  as  old  as  the 
landing  of  the  earliest  Greek  emigrants  on  the  Asian 
coasts :  the  colonists  were  the  force  of  education,  and 
progress  and  freedom,  the  priests  arrayed  against  them 
the  elements  that  made  for  stagnation  and  priest-ridden 
ignorance  and  slavery.  Throughout  Greek  history  the 
same  opposition  constantly  appears.  The  Phrygian  religion 
was  always  reckoned  as  the  antithesis  of  Hellenism.  That 
is  all  a  matter  of  history,  one  might  say  a  commonplace 
of  history.  But  the  same  opposition  was  necessarily 
developed  in  the  Romanisation  of  the  provinces  of  Asia 
Minor.  The  priests  of  the  great  religious  centres  were 
inevitably  opposed  to  the  Roman  policy  ;  but  their  power 
was  gone,  their  vast  estates  had  become  imperial  property, 
and  their  influence  with  the  population  was  weakened 
by  the  growth  of  the  Greek  spirit.  This  subject  might 
be  discussed  at  great  length;  but  I  must  here  content 
myself  with  referring  to  the  full  account  of  the  districts  in 
my  Cities  and  Bishoprics  of  Phrygia. 

In  this  conflict  there  can  be  no  doubt  on  which  side 
the  Christian  influence  must  tell.  When  we  consider  the 
social  system  which  was  inculcated  as  a  part  of  the  native 
religion,  it  is  evident  that  every  word  spoken  by  Paul 
or  Barnabas  must  tell  directly  against  the  prevalent 
religion,  and  consequently  on  the  side  of  the  Roman 
policy.  It  is  true  that  in  moral  tone  the  Greek  society 
and  religion  were  low,  and  Christianity  was  necessarily 
an  enemy  to   them.      But  Greek   religion  was   not  here 


38  SL   Paul  in   Galatia.  Chap,  VL 


present  as  the  enemy.  The  native  religion  was  the  active 
enemy ;  and  its  character  was  such  that  Greek  education 
was  pure  in  comparison,  and  the  Greek  moraHsts,  philo- 
sophers, and  politicians  inveighed  against  the  Phrygian 
religion  as  the  worst  enemy  of  the  Greek  ideals  of  life. 
Greek  society  and  life  were  at  least  founded  on  marriage ; 
but  the  religion  of  Asia  Minor  maintained  as  a  central 
principle  that  all  organised  and  settled  social  life  on  the 
basis  of  marriage  was  an  outrage  on  the  free  unfettered 
divine  life  of  nature,  the  type  of  which  was  found  in  the 
favourites  of  the  great  goddesses,  the  wild  animals  of 
the  field  and  the  mountains.  The  Greek  and  Roman 
law  which  recognised  as  citizens  only  those  born  from 
the  legitimate  marriage  of  two  citizens  had  no  existence 
in  Phrygian  cities. 

Thus  in  Galatia  the  Graeco-Roman  education,  on  the 
side  of  freedom,  civilisation  and  a  higher  social  morality, 
was  contending  against  the  old  native  religious  centres 
with  their  influential  priestly  colleges,  on  the  side  of 
ignorance,  stagnation,  social  anarchy,  and  enslavement  of 
the  people  to  the  priests.  Christian  influence  told  against 
the  latter,  and  therefore  in  favour  of  the  former. 

In  all  these  ways  Christianity,  as  a  force  in  the  social 
life  of  the  time,  was  necessarily  arrayed  on  the  side  of 
the  Roman  imperial  policy,  "One  of  the  most  re- 
markable sides  of  the  history  of  Rome  is  the  growth 
of  ideas  which  found  their  realisation  and  completion 
in  the  Christian  Empire.  Universal  citizenship,  universal 
equality  of  rights,  universal  religion,  a  universal  Church, 
all  were  ideas  which  the  Empire  was  slowly  working 
out,  but  which  it  could  not  realise  till  it  merged  itself  in 
Christianity."     "  The  path  of  development  for  the  Empire 


Sec.  I.     The  Imperial  and  the  Christian  Policy.     139 

lay  in  accepting  the  religion  which  offered  it  the  possibility 
of  completing  its  organisation." 

With  the  instinctive  perception  of  the  real  nature  of 
the  case  that  characterises  the  genius  for  organisation, 
Paul  from  the  first  directed  his  steps  in  the  path  which  the 
Church  had  to  tread.  He  made  no  false  step,  he  needed 
no  tentatives  before  he  found  the  path,  he  had  to  retract 
nothing  (except  perhaps  the  unsuccessful  compromise  em- 
bodied in  the  Decree  of  the  Apostolic  Council,  pp.  172, 
182).  It  is  not  necessary  to  assert  or  to  prove  that  he 
consciously  anticipated  all  that  was  to  take  place ;  but  he 
was  beyond  all  doubt  one  of  those  great  creative  geniuses 
whose  policy  marks  out  the  lines  on  which  history  is  to 
move  for  generations  and  even  for  centuries  afterwards. 

It  is  apparent  how  far  removed  we  are  from  a  view, 
which  has  been  widely  entertained,  "that  there  was  an 
entire  dislocation  and  discontinuity  in  the  history  of 
Christianity  in  Asia  Minor  at  a  certain  epoch ;  that  the 
Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  was  ignored  and  his  teaching 
repudiated,  if  not  anathematised";  and  that  this  anti- 
Pauline  tendency  found  in  "  Papias  a  typical  representa- 
tive". Like  Lightfoot,  whose  summary  we  quote,  we 
must  reject  that  view.  We  find  in  the  epitaph  of  the 
second-century  Phrygian  saint,  Avircius  Marcellus,  a  proof 
of  the  deep  reverence  retained  in  Asia  Minor  for  St.  Paul : 
when  he  travelled,  he  took  Paul  everywhere  with  him  as 
his  guide  and  companion. 

These  considerations  show  the  extreme  importance  of 
the  change  of  plan  that  led  Paul  across  Taurus  to  Pisidian 
Antioch.  So  far  as  it  is  right  to  say  that  any  single 
event  is  of  outstanding  importance,  the  step  that  took 
Paul  away  from  an  outlying  corner  and  put  him  on  the 


i^o  SL  Paul  in  Galatia.  Chaf  VI. 

main  line  of  development  at  the  outset  of  his  work  in 
Asia  Minor,  was  the  most  critical  step  in  his  history.  It 
is  noteworthy  that  the  historian,  who  certainly  understood 
its  importance,  and  whose  sympathy  was  deeply  engaged 
in  it,  does  not  attribute  it  to  Divine  suggestion,  though  he 
generally  records  the  Divine  guidance  in  the  great  crises 
of  Paul's  career ;  and  it  stands  in  perfect  agreement  with 
this  view,  that  Paul  himself,  when  he  impresses  on  the 
Galatian  Churches  in  the  strongest  terms  his  Divine  com- 
mission to  the  Gentiles,  does  not  say  that  the  occasion  of 
his  going  among  them  was  the  Divine  guidance,  but  ex- 
pressly mentions  that  an  illness  was  the  cause  why  he 
preached  among  them  at  first. 

Now,  every  reader  must  be  struck  with  the  stress  that 
is  laid,  alike  by  Paul  and  by  Luke,  throughout  their 
writings,  on  the  Divine  guidance.  They  both  find  the 
justification  of  all  Paul's  innovations  on  missionary  enter- 
prise in  the  guiding  hand  of  God.  We  demand  that  there 
should  be  a  clear  agreement  in  the  occasions  when  they 
discerned  that  guidance ;  and  in  this  case  the  South- 
Galatian  theory  enables  us  to  recognise  a  marked  negative 
agreement. 

Further,  there  is  evidently  a  marked  difference  between 
the  looser  way  of  talking  about  "  the  hand  of  God  "  that 
is  common  in  the  present  day,  and  the  view  entertained 
by  Paul  or  Luke,  Where  a  great  advantage  results  from 
a  serious  illness,  many  of  us  would  feel  it  right  to  recognise 
and  acknowledge  the  "guiding  hand  of  God";  but  it  is 
evident  that,  when  Luke  or  Paul  uses  such  language  a.> 
"  the  Spirit  suffered  them  not,"  they  refer  to  some  definite 
and  clear  manifestation,  and  not  to  a  guidance  which  be- 
came apparent  only  through  the  results.     The  superhuman 


Sec.  I.     The  Imperial  and  the  Christian  Policy.      141 

element  is  inextricably  involved  in  Luke's  history  and  in 
Paul's  letters. 

All  that  has  just  been  said  is,  of  course,  mere  empty 
verbiage,  devoid  of  any  relation  to  Paul's  work  and  policy 
in  Galatia,  if  the  Churches  of  Galatia  were  not  the  active 
centres  of  Roman  organising  effort,  such  as  the  colonies 
Antioch  and  Lystra,  or  busy  trading  cities  like  Claud- 
Iconium  and  Claudio-Derbe,  but  Pessinus  and  some  villages 
in  the  wilderness  of  the  Axylon  (as  Dr.  Chase  and  Dr. 
Zockler  have  recently  maintained).  Lightfoot  saw  the 
character  of  Paul's  work,  and  supposed  him  to  have  gone 
to  the  great  cities  of  North  Galatia,  and  specially  the  me- 
tropolis Ancyra ;  but  the  most  recent  development  of  the 
North-Galatian  theory  denies  that  Paul  ever  saw  the 
Roman  central  city. 

2.  THE  JEWS  IN  ASIA  AND  SOUTH  GALATIA.  In 
Cyprus,  Barnabas  and  Saul  had  confined  themselves  within 
the  circle  of  the  synagogue,  until  Paul  stepped  forth  from 
it  to  address  the  Roman  proconsul.  In  entering  Galatia 
Paul  was  passing  from  Semitic  surroundings  into  a  province 
where  Greek  was  the  language  of  all  even  moderately  edu- 
cated persons,  and  where  Graeco-Roman  manners  and  ideas 
were  being  actively  disseminated  and  eagerly  assimilated 
by  all  active  and  progressive  and  thoughtful  persons. 
How  then  did  Paul,  with  his  versatility  and  adaptability, 
appear  among  the  Galatians,  and  in  what  tone  did  he 
address  them  ? 

At  first  he  adhered  to  his  invariable  custom  of  addressing 
such  audience  as  was  found  within  the  synagogue.  There 
was  a  large  Jewish  population  in  the  Phrygian  district  of 
Galatia,  as  well  as  in  Asian  Phrygia  (which  Paul  entered 
and  traversed  at  a  later  date,  XIX   i).     According  to  Dr. 


142  SL   Paul  in   Galatia.  Chap.  VI. 

Neubauer  {GeograpJiie  dii  Talmud,  p.  315),  these  Jews  had 
to  a  considerable  extent  lost  connection  with  their  country, 
and  forgotten  their  language ;  and  they  did  not  participate 
in  the  educated  philosophy  of  the  Alexandrian  Jews  : 
the  baths  of  Phrygia  and  its  wine  had  separated  the  Ten 
Tribes  from  their  brethren,  as  the  Talmud  expresses  it : 
hence  they  were  much  more  readily  converted  to  Chris- 
tianity ;  and  the  Talmud  alludes  to  the  numerous  con- 
verts. 

It  is  much  to  be  desired  that  this  distinguished  scholar 
should  discuss  more  fully  this  subject,  which  he  has  merely 
touched  on  incidentally.  The  impression  which  he  con- 
veys is  different  from  that  which  one  is  apt  to  take  from 
the  narrative  in  Acts ;  and  one  would  be  glad  to  have  the 
evidence  on  which  he  relies  stated  in  detail.  But  my 
own  epigraphic  studies  in  Phrygia  lead  me  to  think  that 
there  is  much  in  what  Dr.  Neubauer  has  said ;  and  that 
we  must  estimate  Luke's  account  from  the  proper  point. 
Luke  was  profoundly  interested  in  the  conflict  between  Paul 
and  the  Judaising  party  ;  and  he  recounts  with  great  detail 
the  stages  in  that  conflict.  That  point  of  view  is  natural  in 
one  who  had  lived  through  the  conflict,  before  the  knot 
was  cut  by  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  in  A.D.  70;  but, 
though  short,  the  struggle  was  far  more  severe  than  later 
scholars,  who  see  how  complete  was  Paul's  triumph,  are 
apt  to  imagine.  Even  to  a  writer  of  the  second  century, 
the  conflict  with  the  Judaisers  could  not  have  bulked 
largely  in  Church  history.  But  to  Luke  that  conflict  is  the 
great  feature  in  the  development  of  the  Church.  Hence 
he  emphasises  every  point  in  the  antagonism  between  Paul 
and  the  Judaisers  ;  and  his  readers  are  apt  to  leave  out  of 
notice  other  aspects  of  the   case.     The  Jews  of  Pisidian 


Sec.  2.    The  Jews  in  Asia  and  Sonth  Galatia.     143 

Antioch  are  not  represented  as  opposed  to  Paul's  doctrines, 
but  only  to  his  placing  the  Gentiles  on  an  equality  with 
themselves  (p.  loi,  XIII  45).  A  great  multitude  of  the 
Iconian  Jews  believed  (XIV  i).  The  few  Jews  of  Philippi 
seem  to  have  been  entirely  on  Paul's  side :  they  were 
probably  to  a  great  extent  settlers  who  had  come,  like 
Lydia,  in  the  course  of  trade  with  Asia  Minor.  In  Beroea 
the  Jews  in  a  body  were  deeply  impressed  by  Paul's 
preaching.  In  Thessalonica,  however,  the  Jews  were  almost 
entirely  opposed  to  him ;  and  in  Corinth  it  was  nearly  as 
bad,  though  the  archisynagogos  followed  him.  In  Corinth 
the  Jewish  colony  would  certainly  be  in  close  and  direct 
communication  with  Syria  and  Palestine  by  sea,  more  than 
with  the  Phrygian  Jews  of  the  land  road ;  and  it  is  probable 
that  the  same  was  the  case  in  Thessalonica,  though  no  facts 
are  known  to  prove  it. 

From  the  recorded  facts,  therefore,  it  would  appear 
that  the  Jews  in  central  Asia  Minor  were  less  strongly 
opposed  to  Pauline  Christianity  than  they  were  in 
Palestine.  Further,  the  Asian  and  Galatian  Jews  had 
certainly  declined  from  the  high  and  exclusive  standard 
of  the  Palestinian  Jews,  and  probably  forgotten  Hebrew. 
In  Lystra  we  find  a  Jewess  married  to  a  Greek,  who 
cannot  have  come  into  communion  with  the  Jews,  for  the 
son  of  the  marriage  was  not  submitted  to  the  Jewish 
law  (XVI  1-3).  The  marriage  of  a  Jewess  to  a  Gentile 
is  a  more  serious  thing  than  that  of  a  Jew,  and  can 
hardly  have  come  to  pass  except  through  a  marked 
assimilation  of  these  Jews  to  their  Gentile  neighbours. 
In  Ephesus  the  sons  even  of  distinguished  priests 
practised  magic,  and  exorcised  demons  in  the  name  of 
Jesus    (XIX    14) ;    and    Dr.    Schurer    has    shown    that 


144  '^^-  P<^^^  ?^2   Galatia.  Chap.  VI. 

gross  superstitions  were  practised  by  the  Jews  of  Thyatira. 
There  seems,  therefore,  to  be  no  real  discrepancy  between 
the  evidence  of  Luke  and  Dr.  Neubauer's  inference 
about  the  Phrygian  Jews  from  the  Talmud. 

Naturally  the  approximation  between  Jews  and  Gentiles 
in  Phrygia  had  not  been  all  on  one  side.  An  active, 
intelligent,  and  prosperous  minority  like  the  Jews  must 
have  exercised  a  strong  influence  on  their  neighbours. 
Evidence  to  that  effect  is  not  wanting  in  inscriptions 
(see  Cities  and  Bishoprics^  Chap.  XIV) ;  and  we  may 
compare  the  readiness  with  which  the  Antiochians  flocked 
to  the  synagogue,  XIII  43-4,  and  at  a  later  time  yielded 
to  the  first  emissaries  of  the  Judaising  party  in  the  Church 
{Gal.  I  6).  The  history  of  the  Galatian  Churches  is  in 
the  closest  relation  to  their  surroundings  (p.  183). 

3.  TONE  OF  PAUL'S  ADDRESS  TO  THE  GALATIAN 
AUDIENCES.  The  only  recorded  sermon  of  Paul  in  Galatia 
was  delivered  in  the  synagogue  at  Antioch  (p.  100). 
Thereafter  he  "turned  to  the  Gentiles,"  and  appealed 
direct  to  the  populace  of  the  city.  Now  Paul  was  wont 
to  adapt  himself  to  his  hearers  (p.  82).  Did  he  address 
the  people  of  Antioch  as  members  of  a  nation  (Phrygians, 
or,  as  Dr.  Zockler  thinks,  Pisidians),  or  did  he  regard 
them  as  members  of  the  Roman  Empire?  We  cannot 
doubt  that  his  teaching  was  opposed  to  the  native  ten- 
dency as  one  of  mere  barbarism  and  superstition  ;  and  that 
he  regarded  them  as  members  of  the  same  Empire  of 
which  he  was  a  citizen.  Moreover,  the  Antiochians 
claimed  to  be  a  Greek  foundation  of  remote  time  by 
Magnesian  settlers :  that  is,  doubtless,  a  fiction  (of  a 
type  fashionable  in  the  great  cities  of  Phrygia),  but  it 
shows  the  tendency  to  claim  Greek  origin  and  to  regard 


Sec.  3.    Tone  of  Patils  Address  to  the  Galatians.    145 

national  characteristics  as  vulgar.  Finally,  Antioch  was 
now  a  Roman  colony,  and  its  rank  and  position  in  the 
province  belonged  to  it  as  the  representative  of  old 
Greek  culture  and  modern  Roman  government  amid 
uncultured  rustic  Pisidians  and  Phrygians.  But  the 
North  Galatian  theorists  resolutely  maintain  that  Paul 
could  never  appeal  to  its  population  as  "men  of  the 
province  Galatia,"  but  only  as  "Pisidians". 

We  possess  a  letter  which  Paul  addressed  to  the  Gala- 
tian Churches;  but  it  was  addressed  to  congregations 
which  had  existed  for  five  years  or  more,  and  was  written 
on  a  special  occasion  to  rebuke  and  repress  the  Judaising 
tendency :  it  moves  in  a  series  of  arguments  against  that 
tendency,  and  gives  us  little  information  as  to  the  line 
Paul  would  take  in  addressing  for  the  first  time  a  pagan 
audience  in  one  of  the  Galatian  cities  (see  Ch.  VIII). 

In  writing  to  the  Corinthian  Church  Paul  mentions 
that  he  had  adopted  a  very  simple  way  of  appealing  to 
them,  and  that  his  simple  message  was  by  some  persons 
contrasted  unfavourably  with  the  more  philosophical 
style  of  ApoUos  and  the  more  ritualistic  teaching  of 
the  Judaising  Christians.  But  it  is  apparent  (see  p.  252) 
that  Paul  made  a  new  departure  in  this  respect  at 
Corinth;  and  we  must  not  regard  too  exclusively  what 
he  says  in  that  letter.  Though  the  main  elements  of 
his  message  were  the  same  from  first  to  last  {Gal.  Ill 
I,  I  Cor.  II  2),  yet  it  is  natural  and  probable  that  there 
should  be  a  certain  degree  of  development  in  his  method  ; 
and  in  trying  to  recover  the  tone  in  which  he  first  appealed 
to  his  Galatic  audiences,  we  are  carried  back  to  a  period 
in  his  career  earlier  than  any  of  his  extant  letters. 
The   passages   in   Acts   that   touch   the   point    are   the 


10 


146  S^.  Paul  in  Galatia.  Chap.  VI. 

address  to  his  worshippers  at  Lystra,  the  speech  before  the 
Areopagus  at  Athens,  and,  at  a  later  time,  the  account 
which  the  Town-clerk  at  Ephesus  gave  of  his  attitude 
as  a  preacher. 

The  Town-clerk  of  Ephesus  reminded  the  rioters  that 
Paul  was  not  guilty  either  of  treason  towards  the  Roman 
Government  or  disrespectful  language  towards  the 
goddess  of  the  city.  Chrysostom  in  the  fourth  century 
remarks  that  this  was  a  false  statement  to  suit  the 
occasion  and  calm  the  riot ;  it  seemed  to  him  impossible 
that  Paul  should  refrain  from  violent  invective  against  the 
false  goddess,  for  the  later  Christians  inveighed  in  merci- 
less terms  against  the  Greek  gods,  and  (as  every  one 
who  tries  to  understand  ancient  religion  must  feel)  the 
Apologists  from  the  second  century  onwards  give  a  one- 
sided picture  of  that  religion,  describing  only  its  worst 
features,  and  omitting  those  germs  of  higher  ideas  which 
it  certainly  contained.  But  we  cannot  suppose  with 
Chrysostom  that  the  clerk  misrepresented  the  facts  to 
soothe  the  popular  tumult.  The  effect  of  his  speech 
depended  on  the  obviousness  of  the  facts  which  he  ap- 
pealed to  ;  and  it  would  defeat  his  purpose,  if  his  audience 
had  listened  to  speeches  in  which  Paul  inveighed 
against  the  goddess.  If  this  speech  is  taken  from  real 
life,  the  clerk  of  Ephesus  must  be  appealing  to  well- 
known  facts  (see  p.  281  f.). 

Next  we  turn  to  the  speech  at  Athens.  So  far  was 
Paul  from  inveighing  against  the  objects  of  Athenian 
veneration  that  he  expressly  commended  the  religious 
feelings  of  the  people,  and  identified  the  God  whom  he 
had  come  to  preach  with  the  god  whom  they  were  blindly 
worshipping.     He  did  not  rebuke  or  check  their  religious 


Sec.  3.    To7ie  of  PauFs  Address  to  the  Galatians.    147 

ideas,  but  merely  tried  to  guide  them  ;  he  distinctly  set 
forth  the  principle  that  the  pagans  were  honestly  striving 
to  worship  "  the  God  that  made  the  world  and  all  things 
therein"  (p.  251  f.). 

In  this  speech  Paul  lays  no  emphasis  on  the  person- 
ality of  the  God  whom  he  sets  forth  :  "  what  ye  worship 
in  ignorance,  this  set  I  forth  unto  you,"  and  "  we  ought 
not  to  think  that  the  Divine  nature  is  like  unto  gold  or 
silver  or  stone,  graven  by  art  and  device  of  man  ".  The 
popular  philosophy  inclined  towards  Pantheism,  the  popu- 
lar religion  was  Polytheistic  ;  but  Paul  starts  from  the 
simplest  platform  common  to  both — there  exists  some- 
thing in  the  way  of  a  Divine  nature  which  the  religious 
try  to  please  and  the  philosophers  try  to  understand. 
That  is  all  he  seeks  as  a  hypothesis  to  start  from. 

At  Athens  the  speech  was  more  philosophical  in  tone, 
catching  the  spirit  of  a  more  educated  populace.  At 
Lystra  it  was  more  simple,  appealing  to  the  witness  they 
had  of  the  God  "  who  gives  from  heaven  rain  and  fruitful 
seasons,  filling  your  hearts  with  gladness".  But  the 
attitude  is  the  same  in  both  cases.  "  God  who  made  the 
heaven  and  the  earth  in  the  generations  gone  by  suffered 
all  the  nations  to  walk  in  their  own  ways "  ;  and  "  we 
bring  you  the  good  news  that  you  should  repent ".  That 
is  the  same  tone  in  which  at  Athens  he  said,  "  The  times 
of  ignorance 'God  overlooked;  but  now  He  commandeth 
men  that  they  should  all  everywhere  repent ". 

There  is  one  condition,  however,  on  which  Paul  insisted 
from  the  first,  at  Athens  and  at  Lystra  and  everywhere. 
The  worship  of  idols  and  images  was  absolutely  pernicious, 
and  concealed  from  the  nations  the  God  whom  they  were 
groping  after  and  trying  to  find  :    they  must  turn    from 


148  S^.  Paul  in   Galatia.  Chap.  VI, 

these  vain  and  dead  gods  to  the  God  that  lives.  Hence 
the  riot  at  Ephesus  was  got  up  by  the  tradesmen  who 
made  images  of  the  Goddess  Artemis  in  her  shrine,  and 
whose  trade  was  threatened  when  the  worship  of  images 
was  denounced.  But  the  denunciation  of  images  was  a 
commonplace  of  Greek  philosophy  ;  and  the  idea  that  any 
efficacy  resided  in  images  was  widely  regarded  among 
the  Greeks  as  a  mark  of  superstition  unworthy  of  the 
educated  man.  Paul  stands  here  on  the  footing  of  the 
philosopher,  not  contravening  the  State  laws  by  introducing 
new  gods,  but  expounding  to  the  people  the  true  character 
of  the  living  God  whom  they  are  seeking  after. 

Such  was  the  way  in  which  Paul  introduced  his  Good 
Tidings  to  the  peoples  of  the  province  Galatia.  From 
this  he  went  on  step  by  step,  and  his  method  is  summed 
up  by  himself.  Gal.  Ill  i,  "Christ  had  been  placarded 
before  their  eyes".  Now  was  the  opportunity  granted 
them  ;  "through  this  Man  is  proclaimed  remission  of  sins" 
(XIII  38).  But  if  they  despised  the  opportunity  they 
must  beware  (XIII  40-1),  "inasmuch  as  He  hath  appointed 
a  day  in  the  which  He  will  judge  the  world  "  (XVII  31). 

Paul's  teaching  thus  was  introduced  to  his  pagan 
audiences  in  the  language  of  the  purest  and  simplest 
theology  current  among  educated  men.  He  started  from 
those  thoughts  which  were  familiar  to  all  who  had  imbibed 
even  the  elements  of  Greek  education.  But  even  in  the 
more  advanced  stage  of  his  teaching  he  did  not  cut  it  off 
from  the  philosophy  of  the  time.  He  never  adopted  that 
attitude  of  antagonism  to  philosophy  which  became 
customary  in  the  second  century,  springing  from  the 
changed  circumstances  of  that  period.  On  the  contrary,  he 
says  {Col.  IV  5-G,  cf.  Epk.  V  16) :  "  Regulate  with  wisdom 


Sec.  3.    Tone  of  Paul's  Address  to  the  Galatians.    149 

your  conduct  towards  the  outside  world,  making  your  market 
to  the  full  from  the  opportunity  of  this  life.  Let  your  con- 
versation be  always  gracious,  seasoned  with  the  salt  and 
the  refinement  of  delicacy,  so  as  to  know  the  suitable  reply 
to  make  to  every  individual."  As  Curtius  says,  with  his  .' 
own  grace  and  delicacy  of  perception,  the  Attic  salt  is 
here  introduced  into  the  sphere  of  Christian  ethics.  * 
Polished  courtesy  of  address  to  all,  was  valued  by  Paul  as 
a  distinct  and  important  element  in  the  religious  life ;  and 
he  advised  his  pupils  to  learn  from  the  surrounding  world 
everything  that  was  worthy  in  it,  "  making  your  market 
fully  from  the  occasion "  (a  thought  very  inadequately 
expressed  in  the  English  Version,  "  redeeming  the  time," 
Col.  IV  6).  But  it  is  in  Phil.  IV  8  that  his  spirit  is 
expressed  in  the  fullest  and  most  graceful  and  exquisite 
form,  "  whatsoever  is  true,  whatsoever  is  holy,  whatsoever 
is  just,  whatsoever  is  pure,  whatsoever  is  courteous,  whatso- 
ever is  of  fine  expression,  all  excellence,  all  merit,  take 
account  of  these,"  wherever  you  find  these  qualities,  notice 
them,  consider  them,  imitate  them. 

It  is  not  the  Jew  who  speaks  in  these  and  many  other  k^ 
sentences  ;  it  is  the  educated  citizen  of  the  Roman  world 
attuned  to  the  most  gracious  and  polished  tone  of  educated 
society.  We  can  faintly  imagine  to  ourselves  the  electrical 
effect  produced  by  teaching  like  this  on  the  population  of 
the  Galatian  cities,  on  a  people  who  were  just  beginning  to 
rise  from  the  torpor  of  oriental  peasant  life  and  to  appreciate 
the  beauty  of  Greek  thought  and  the  splendour  of  Roman 
power.  They  found  in  Paul  no  narrow  and  hard  bigot  to 
dash  from  their  lips  the  cup  of  education  ;  they  found  one 
who  guided  into  the  right  channel  all  their  aspirations  after 
culture  and  progress,  who  raised  them  into  a  finer  sphere  of 


150  St.  Pa?i/  in  G alalia.  Chap.  VI. 

thought  and  action,  who  showed  them  what  wealth  of 
meaning  lay  in  their  simple  speculations  on  the  nature  of 
God,  who  brought  within  their  grasp  all  that  they  were 
groping  after.  We  can  imagine  how  sordid  and  beggarly 
were  the  elements  that  Jewish  ritual  had  to  offer  them  in 
comparison ;  and  we  can  appreciate  the  tone  of  Paul's 
letter  to  them,  where  his  argument  is  to  recall  to  their 
minds  the  teaching  which  he  had  given  them  on  his 
former  visit,  to  contrast  with  this  freedom  and  gracious- 
ness  and  progress  which  he  offered  them  the  hard  cut  and 
dry  life  of  Jewish  formalism,  and  to  ask  who  had  bewitched 
them  into  preferring  the  latter  before  the  former.^ 

It  is  remarkable  that,  alike  at  Lystra  and  Athens,  there 
is  nothing  in  the  reported  words  of  Paul  that  is  overtly 
Christian,  and  nothing  (with  the  possible  exception  of 
"  the  man  whom  he  hath  ordained ")  that  several  Greek 
philosophers  might  not  have  said.  That  is  certainly  not 
accidental ;  the  author  of  Acts  must  have  been  conscious 
of  it ;  and  it  is  a  strong  proof  of  their  genuineness :  no 
one  would  invent  a  speech  for  Paul,  which  was  not 
markedly  Christian.  That  remarkable  omission  is  ex- 
plained by  some  commentators  in  the  speech  at  Athens 
{e.g.,  Meyer-Wendt)  as  due  to  the  fact  that  the  speech 
was  not  completed ;  and  yet  they  acknowledge  that 
the  speech  is  a  rounded  whole,  and  that  all  the  specially 
Pauline  ideas  are  touched  in  it.  To  look  for  an  addition 
naming  the  Saviour  is  to  ignore  the  whole  character  of 
the  speech  and  the  scene  where  it  was  delivered. 

The  same  mark  of  genuineness  occurs  in  the  central 
episode  of  the  romance  of  Thekla,  when  we  disentangle 

'  Curtius's  beautiful  essay  on  Paidus  in  A  then  has  been  constantly 
in  the  writer's  mind  in  this  and  some  other  places. 


Sec.  3.   Tone  of  Paid' s  Address  to  the  Galatians.   151 

the  tale  of  her  trials  at  Pisidian  Antioch  from  the  incon- 
gruous and  vulgar  additions  by  which  it  is  disfigured. 
In  the  beautiful  story  as  it  was  originally  written,  pro- 
bably in  the  latter  part  of  the  first  century,  Thekla 
appeared  to  the  mass  of  the  Antiochian  populace  to  be 
a  devotee  of  "  the  God,"  bound  by  a  rule  of  service  given 
her  by  direct  Divine  command ;  and  she  commanded 
their  sympathy,  in  so  far  as  she  represented  their  own 
cause ;  whereas,  if  she  had  been  seen  to  be  severing 
herself  absolutely  from  their  life  and  their  religion,  their 
sympathy  would  be  incredible.  In  this  character  lies 
the  proof  of  its  early  date :  the  episode  in  its  original 
form  is  contrary  to  the  tone  of  the  second  century. 

Incidentally  we  notice  what  an  anachronism  it  is 
to  suppose  that  the  attitude  attributed  in  Acts  to  Paul 
could  have  been  conceived  by  a  second-century  author  I 
The  tone  of  these  speeches  is  of  the  first  century,  and 
not  of  the  time  when  the  Apologists  were  writing.  In 
the  first  century  Christianity  and  the  current  philosophy 
alike  were  disliked  and  repressed  by  the  Flavian  emperors, 
as  favouring  the  spirit  of  unrest  and  dissatisfaction.  But 
during  the  second,  the  Imperial  Government  and  the 
popular  philosophy  were  in  league  against  the  increasing 
power  of  the  Church  ;  and  the  tone  of  the  speeches  is 
incredible  in  a  composition  of  that  time. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE    APOSTOLIC    COUNCIL. 

I.  ORIGIN  OF  THE  COUNCIL.  (XIV  27)  WHEN 
PAUL  AND  BARNABAS  WERE  COME  TO  ANTIOCH  AND 
HAD  GATHERED  THE  CHURCH  TOGETHER,  THEY  RE- 
HEARSED ALL  THINGS  THAT  GOD  HAD  DONE  WITH 
THEM,  AND  HOW  THAT  HE  HAD  OPENED  A  DOOR  OF 
BELIEF  UNTO  THE  NATIONS.  (28)  AND  THEY  TARRIED 
NO  LITTLE  TIME  WITH  THE  DISCIPLES.  (XV  l)  AND 
CERTAIN  PERSONS  CAME  DOWN  FROM  JUDAEA,  AND 
TAUGHT  THE  BRETHREN,  THAT  "  EXCEPT  YE  BE  CIR- 
CUMCISED, AFTER  THE  CUSTOM  OF  MOSES,  YE  CANNOT 
BE  SAVED".  (2)  AND  WHEN  PAUL  AND  BARNABAS 
HAD  NO  SMALL  DISSENSION  AND  QUESTIONING  WITH 
THEM,  THEY  {i.e.,  the  Brethren)  APPOINTED  THAT  PAUL 
AND  BARNABAS  AND  CERTAIN  OTHER  OF  THEM  SHOULD 
GO  UP  TO  JERUSALEM  ABOUT  THIS  QUESTION.  (3) 
THEY,  THEREFORE,  BEING  BROUGHT  ON  THEIR  WAY 
BY  THE  CHURCH,  PASSED  THROUGH  BOTH  PHCENICE 
AND  SAMARIA,  DECLARING  THE  CONVERSION  OF  TPIE 
NATIONS;  AND  THEY  CAUSED  GREAT  JOY  UNTO  ALL 
THE   BRETHREN. 

A  considerable  lapse  of  time  is  implied  in  v.  28,  during 
which  Paul  and  Barnabas  resumed  their  former  duties 
at  Antioch  (XIII   i).     Luke,  as  usual,  states  the  lapse  of 

(152) 


Sect.  Origin  of  the  Coimcil.  153 

time  very  vaguely,  and  it  is  impossible  to  estimate  from 
his  words  the  interval  between  Paul's  return  and  the 
arrival  of  the  envoys  from  Jerusalem  (XV  i).  If  z^.  28 
includes  only  that  interval,  the  Apostolic  Council  can- 
not have  occurred  before  A.D.  50 ;  but  if,  as  is  more 
likely  (p.  256),  v.  28  refers  to  the  whole  residence  of  Paul 
at  Antioch  before  and  after  the  Council,  then  probably  the 
Council  took  place  in  the  end  of  49. 

A  difficulty  (which  is  described  in  §  2)  occurred  at 
Antioch  as  to  the  obligation  of  the  Gentile  members  of 
the  Church  to  come  under  the  full  ceremonial  regulations 
of  the  Jewish  Law  ;  and  it  was  resolved  to  send  delegates 
to  the  governing  body  of  the  Church  in  Jerusalem  about 
this  question.  We  cannot  doubt  that  this  resolution 
was  acquiesced  in  by  Paul  ;  probably  he  even  proposed 
it.  Now,  the  resolution  clearly  involved  the  recognition 
that  Jerusalem  was  the  administrative  centre  of  the 
Church ;  and  this  is  an  important  point  in  estimating 
Paul's  views  on  administration.  With  the  vision  of  a 
statesman  and  organiser,  he  saw  that  the  Church  as  a 
unified  and  organised  body  must  have  an  administrative 
centre,  and  that  a  Church  of  separate  parts  could  not 
be  unified  without  such  a  centre,  which  should  be  not  a 
governor  over  subordinates,  but  the  head  among  equals  ; 
and  his  whole  history  shows  that  he  recognised  Jerusalem 
as  necessarily  marked  out  for  the  centre.  Hence  he  kept 
before  the  attention  of  his  new  foundations  their  relation 
and  duty  to  Jerusalem  ;  and  he  doubtless  understood  the 
solitary  injunction  given  him  by  the  older  Apostles  on 
his  second  visit  to  Jerusalem  (p.  57),  as  involving  a 
charge  to  remember  that  duty. 

Moreover,  he  had  already  communicated  privately  with 


1 54  The  Apostolic  Council.  Chap.  VII. 

the  recognised  leaders  in  Jerusalem,  and  knew  that  their 
sentiments  agreed  with  his  own  ;  and  he  must  have 
been  fully  alive  to  the  great  step  in  organisation  which 
would  be  made,  if  Antioch  set  the  example  of  referring 
such  a  question  to  authoritative  decision  in  Jerusalem  at 
a  meeting  where  it  was  represented  by  delegates. 

In  the  mission  of  Paul  and  Barnabas  to  Jerusalem  it 
is  noteworthy  that  the  Divine  action  plays  no  part.  The 
Church  in  Antioch  resolved,  and  the  Church  sent  them 
to  Jerusalem,  escorting  them  on  their  way.  This  is  not 
accidental,  but  expresses  the  deliberate  judgment  of 
Paul  and  of  Luke.  The  action  that  led  up  to  the 
Council  in  Jerusalem  and  the  ineffective  Decree  did  not 
originate  in  Divine  revelation. 

The  accepted  view  is  different.  There  is  a  practically 
universal  agreement  among  critics  and  commentators 
of  every  shade  of  opinion  that  the  visit  described  as  the 
third  in  Acts  XV  is  the  one  that  Paul  describes  as  the 
second  in  Gal.  II  i-io.  Scholars  who  agree  in  regard 
to  scarcely  any  other  point  of  early  Christian  history 
are  at  one  in  this.  Now,  Paul  says  in  his  letter  to  the 
Galatians  that  he  made  his  second  visit  in  accordance 
with  revelation.  Lightfoot  tries  to  elude  the  difficulty 
of  identifying  this  second  visit  by  revelation  with  the 
third  visit  without  revelation  recorded  in  Acts  XV  :  he 
says  {Gal.,  p.  125),  "here  there  is  no  contradiction.  The 
historian  naturally  records  the  external  impulse  which 
led  to  the  mission  :  the  Apostle  himself  states  his  inward 
motive."  He  quotes  "  parallel  cases  which  suggest  how 
the  one  motive  might  supplement  the  other".  But 
the  parallels  which  he  quotes  to  support  his  view  seem 
merely    to    prove    how   improbable   it   is.      (i)    He   says 


Sec.  I.  Origin  of  the  Council.  155 

that  in  Acts  XIII  2,  4,  Barnabas  and  Paul  were  sent 
forth  by  the  Holy  Spirit  through  a  direct  command  ;  while 
in  XIII  3  they  are  sent  away  by  the  Church  of  Antioch. 
But  that  is  not  the  proper  force  of  XIII  3  (p.  67  f.) :  the 
Church  merely  gave  Barnabas  and  Saul  freedom  from 
their  duties  and  leave  to  depart,  while  the  Spirit  "  sent 
them  out ".  In  XV  3,  on  the  contrary,  the  Church  is 
said  to  have  initiated  and  completed  the  action.  (2) 
He  founds  another  parallel  on  the  mistaken  idea  that 
XXII   17  and  IX  29  f.  refer  to  the  same  visit  (p.  62). 

The  journey  to  Jerusalem  occupied  some  time ;  for  in 
Phoenice  and  in  Samaria  the  envoys  took  the  oppor- 
tunity of  "  describing  in  detail  the  turning  of  the  Nations 
to  God'\  Here,  evidently,  the  newly  accomplished 
step,  "  the  opening  of  the  door  of  faith  to  the  Nations," 
is  meant.  The  recital  of  the  circumstances  and  results 
of  the  new  step  caused  great  joy.  Now,  Luke  pointedly 
omits  Judaea ;  and  his  silence  is,  as  often  elsewhere, 
eloquent :  the  recital  would  cause  no  joy  in  Judaea. 
Accordingly,  we  are  not  to  suppose  that  the  joy  was  merely 
caused  by  sympathy  with  the  spread  of  Christianity,  in 
which  the  Judaean  Brethren  would  doubtless  rejoice  as  much 
as  any.  The  joy  of  the  people  of  Phoenice  and  Samaria 
was  due  to  the  news  of  free  acceptance  of  Gentile  con- 
verts: Paul,  as  he  went,  preached  freely  to  all  and  in- 
vited all.  When  he  did  this  in  Phoenice  and  Samaria, 
it  follows  that  he  had  been  doing  the  same  in  Antioch 
since  his  return  from  Galatia:  the  door  which  had  once 
been  opened,  XIV  27,  remained   permanently  open. 

2.  THE  DISPUTE  IN  ANTIOCH.  The  new  de- 
parture in  Galatia  and  Antioch — the  opening  of  the  door 
of     faith     to     the     Nations — forced     into     prominence 


156  The  Apostolic  Council.  Chap.  VI I. 

the  question  of  the  relations  of  Gentile  to  Jewish 
Christians. 

There  had  already  been  some  prospect  that  this 
question  would  be  opened  up  during  Paul's  second  visit 
to  Jerusalem  (p.  56  f ) ;  but  for  the  moment  the  difficulty- 
did  not  become  acute.  The  older  Antiochian  converts, 
as  we  have  seen,  had  all  entered  through  the  door  of 
the  synagogue ;  and  had  necessarily  accepted  certain  pro- 
hibitions as  a  rule  of  life.  But  the  newly  founded 
Galatian  Churches  contained  large  numbers  who  had 
joined  Paul  directly,  without  any  connection  with  the 
synagogue ;  in  the  face  of  Luke's  silence  on  such  a 
crucial  point  we  cannot  think  that  Paul  imposed  on 
them  any  preliminary  conditions  of  compliance  with 
Jewish  rules ;  and,  if  so,  we  must  understand  that  the 
same  interpretation  of  "  the  open  door "  characterised 
his  action  in  Antioch,  Phoenice  and  Samaria. 

The  Jews  who  had  been  settled  for  generations  in  the 
cities  of  Syria  and  Asia  Minor  had  lost  much  of  their 
exclusiveness  in  ordinary  life  (p.  143).  Moreover,  the 
development  of  events  in  Antioch  had  been  gradual ; 
and  no  difficulty  seems  to  have  been  caused  there  at 
first  by  this  last  step.  We  learn  from  Paul  himself 
{^Gal.  II  12  f.)  that  even  Peter,  already  prepared  to 
some  extent  by  his  own  bold  action  in  the  case  of  Cor- 
nelius, had  no  scruple  in  associating  freely  with  the 
Antiochian  Christians  in  general.  But  the  Jews  of 
Jerusalem  were  far  more  rigid  and  narrow  ;  and  when 
some  of  them  came  down  on  a  mission  to  Antioch 
from  the  Church  in  Jerusalem,  they  were  shocked  by  the 
state  of  things  which  they  found  there.  They  could 
not  well  take  the  ground  that  one  Christian  should  not 
associate    with    another ;    they   put   their   argument   in  a 


Sec.  2,  The  Dispute  in  Antioch.  157 

more  subtle  form,  and  declared  that  no  one  could  be- 
come in  the  full  sense  a  member  of  the  Church,  unless 
he  came  under  the  Jewish  Law,  and  admitted  on  his 
body  its  sign  and  seal :  the  Nations  could  be  received 
into  the  Church,  but  in  the  reception  they  must  conform 
to  the  Law  (XV  2).  The  question,  it  must  be  clearly 
observed,  was  not  whether  non-Jews  could  be  saved,  for 
it  was  admitted  by  all  parties  that  they  could,  but  how 
they  were  saved  :  did  the  path  of  belief  lie  through  the 
gate  of  the  Law  alone,  or  was  there  a  path  of  belief 
that  did  not  lead  through  that  gate  ?  Had  God  made 
another  door  to  Himself  outside  of  the  Law  of  Moses  ? 
Had  He  practically  set  aside  that  Law,  and  declared  it 
of  no  avail,  by  admitting  as  freely  them  that  disregarded 
it  as  them  that  believed  and  followed  it? 

When  the  question  was  put  in  this  clear  and  logical 
form,  we  can  well  believe  that  Jews  as  a  rule  shrank 
from  all  the  consequences  that  followed  from  free  admis- 
sion of  the  Nations.  We  can  imagine  that  some  who 
had  answered  practically  by  associating  with  the  Gentile 
Christians,  repented  of  their  action  when  its  full  conse- 
quences were  brought  before  them.-  Only  rare  and 
exceptional  natures  could  have  risen  unaided  above  the 
prejudices  and  the  pride  of  generations,  and  have  sacrificed 
their  Law  to  their  advancing  experience.  The  record 
confirms  what  we  see  to  be  natural  in  the  circumstances. 
Paul  stood  immovably  firm  ;  and  he  carried  with  him, 
after  some  wavering,  the  leaders  (but  not  the  mass)  of  the 
Jewish  Christians.     This  point  requires  careful  study. 

The  occasion  of  the  dissension  at  Antioch  is  thus 
described  by  our  three  authorities, — Luke,  the  Apostles  at 
Jerusalem,  and  Paul  himself. 


■58 


The  Apostolic  Council.  Chap.  VII. 


Acts  XV  I. 

CERTAIN  PER- 
SONS CAME  DOWN 
FROM  J  UD^A 
AND  TAUGHT 
THE  BRETHREN, 
THAT  "IF  YE  BE 
NOT  CIRCUM- 
CISED  AFTER  THE 
MANNER  OF 
MOSES,  YE  CAN- 
NOT   BE    SAVED  ". 


Acts  XV  24.. 

WE  HAVE 
HEARD  THAT 
CERTAIN  PER- 
SONS WHICH 
WENT  FORTH 
FROM  US  HAVE 
TROUBLED  YOU 
WITH  WORDS, 
SUBVERTING 
YOUR     SOULS 


Gal.  II  12. 
BEFORE  THAT 
CERTAIN  PER- 
SONS CAME  FROM 
JAMES,  PETER 
USED  TO  EAT 
WITH  THE  GEN- 
TILES; BUT,  WHEN 
THEY  CAME,  HE 
BEGAN  TO  DRAW 
BACK     AND     SEP- 


[AND     {as     V.     28      ARATE     HIMSELF, 
hnplies)     LAYING      FEARING   THE 

on  you  greater    champions    of 

burden    than    circumcision. 

the     four    (14)  but   i  said 

necessary    unto     cephas 

points    of    before     them 

ritual].  all,  "how   COM- 

pellest  thou 

the  nations  to 

conform    to 

JEWISH  CERE- 
MONIAL?" 
It  is  noteworthy  that  Luke  used  the  vague  expression 
that  "  persons  came  down  from  Judaea,"  which  is  made 
more  definite  in  v.  24 :  the  champions  of  circumcision 
who  caused  the  dissension  in  Antioch  had  come  on  a 
mission  from  the  Apostles  in  Jerusalem.  Luke  pointedly 
avoids  any  expression  that  would  connect  the  leading 
Apostles  with  the  action  of  these  emissaries.  They  had 
been    sent   from    Terusalem  :   but   in    v.    24   the   Apostles 


Sec.  2.  The  Dispute  in  Antioch.  i  59 


disclaim  all  responsibility  for  their  action.  While  Luke 
gives  all  the  materials  for  judging,  the  substitution  of 
JudcBa  for  Jerusalem  in  his  narrative  is  very  significant 
of  his  carefulness  in  the  minuticB  of  expression.  It  is 
in  no  sense  incorrect  (it  puts  the  general  name  of  the 
whole  land  in  place  of  the  city  name),  and  it  guards 
against  a  probable  misconception  in  the  briefest  way. 

The  incidents  described  in  Gal.  II  11-14  are  not  usually 
referred  to  this  period  ;   and  it  is  therefore  advisable  to 
elicit   from   the   words   of  Paul   the   precise   situation   as 
he  conceives  it.     Certain    persons  had  come  to  Antioch 
from  James  :  James,  the  head  of  the  Church  in  Jerusalem, 
here   stands   alone  as  "  the  local    representative "   of  that 
Church   (to   borrow   a    phrase   from    Lightfoot,    Ed.    Gal, 
p.  365).     These  persons  had  found  in  Antioch  a  situation 
that  shocked  them,  and  they  expressed  their  disapproval 
so    strongly    and     effectively,    that    Peter    shrank    from 
continuing   the   free    intercourse    with   Gentile    Christians 
which  he  had  been  practising.     What  do  we  learn  from 
the  context  as  to  their  attitude  ?     They  are  styled  "  they 
of  the  circumcision "  ;  and   this  phrase  (as  distinguished 
from  the  mere  general   expression    of  disagreement  and 
dislike  used  about  persons  of  the  same  class  in   Gal.   II 
4)    implies    that    they    actively    championed   that    cause 
against   Peter.     The  exact  form  of  the  argument  which 
moved    Peter    is    not    stated   explicitly   by    Paul   in   his 
hurried  and  impassioned  narrative  ;  but  we  gather  what 
it  was  from  the   terms  of  his   expostulation  with   Peter. 
He  said  to   him    in    public  :    "  how  compellest  thou  the 
Nations  to  Judaise?"     The  words  have  no  force  unless 
Peter,  convinced  by  the  Judaistic  envoys,  had  begun  to 
declare  that    compliance  with   the  Law  was    compulsory, 


i6o  The  Apostolic  Council.  Chap.  VII. 

before  Gentiles  could  become  members  of  the  Church  fully 
entitled  to  communion  with  it. 

Accordingly,  the  situation  described  in  Gal.  II  11-14 
is  that  which  existed  in  Antioch  after  Paul's  return 
from  the  Galatian  Churches.  In  the  first  part  of  his 
letter  to  the  Galatians,  Paul  recapitulates  the  chief  stages 
in  the  development  of  the  controversy  between  the 
Judaising  party  in  the  Church,  the  premonitory  signs  on 
his  second  visit  to  Jerusalem,  and  the  subsequent  open 
conflict  in  Antioch.  The  conflict  took  place,  then,  after 
the  second  visit,  but  before  the  third  visit,  i.e.,  either 
immediately  before  or  immediately  after  the  missionary 
journey  to  Cyprus  and  Galatia  ;  and  it  is  unjustifiable 
to  suppose  that  two  visits  so  similar  in  their  results  took 
place  about  the  same  period,  of  which  one  alone  seemed 
to  Paul  worth  mentioning,  while  the  other  alone  was 
recorded  by  Luke. 

When  the  question  was  put  distinctly  in  all  its 
bearings  and  consequences  before  Peter,  he  was  un- 
able to  resist  the  argument  that  Christians  ought  to 
observe  the  Law,  as  Christ  had  done,  and  as  the 
Twelve  did.  On  one  or  two  occasions,  indeed,  Christ 
had  been  taunted  with  permitting  breaches  of  the 
Law;  but  His  actions  could  be  so  construed  only  by 
captious  hypercriticism.  It  is  quite  clear  that  Peter 
and  the  older  Apostles  did  not  for  a  time  grasp  the 
full  import  of  Christ's  teaching  on  this  subject :  the 
actual  fact  that  He  and  they  were  Jews,  and  lived  as 
such,  made  more  impression  on  them  than  mere  theo- 
retical teaching.  Barnabas,  even,  was  carried  away  by 
the  example  of  Peter,  and  admitted  the  argument  that 
the  Gentile  Christians  ought  "  to  live  as  do  the  Jews ". 


Sec.  2.  The  Dispute  in  Antioch.  i6i 

Paul  alone  stood  firm.  The  issue  of  the  situation  is 
not  described  by  Paul ;  he  had  now  brought  down  his 
narrative  to  the  situation  in  which  the  Galatian  defec- 
tion arose ;  and  his  retrospect  therefore  came  to  an  end, 
when  he  reached  the  familiar  facts  (p.  185  f).  We  must 
estimate  from  the  context  the  general  argument  and 
what  was  the  issue.  Obviously,  the  rebuke  which  Paul 
gave  must  have  been  successful  in  the  case  of  Peter  and 
Barnabas ;  the  immediate  success  of  his  appeal  to  their 
better  feelings  constitutes  the  whole  force  of  his  argument 
to  the  Galatians.  The  power  of  his  letter  to  them  lies 
in  this,  that  the  mere  statement  of  the  earlier  stages  of 
the  controversy  is  sufficient  to  show  the  impregnability 
of  his  position  and  the  necessity  of  his  free  and  generous 
policy :  the  narrow  Judaising  tyranny  was  self-con- 
demned ;  Peter  was  wholly  with  him,  and  so  was 
Barnabas ;  but  the  victory  had  been  gained,  not  by 
listening  to  the  older  Apostles,  but  by  obeying  "  the 
good  pleasure  of  God,  who  called  me  by  His  grace  to 
preach  Him  among  the  Gentiles".  If  the  hesitation  of 
Peter  and  Barnabas  had  resulted  in  an  unreconciled 
dispute,  the  force  of  Paul's  argument  is  gone :  he  has 
urged  at  great  length  that  the  older  Apostles  were  in 
agreement  with  him,  and  accepted  him  as  the  Apostle 
called  to  the  Foreign  Mission,  as  they  were  to  the 
Jewish  Mission ;  and,  as  the  climax  of  his  argument 
for  equality  of  privilege,  he  says :  "  Peter  and  even 
Barnabas  wavered  for  a  moment  from  their  course,  when 
the  gravity  of  its  consequences,  viz.,  the  supersession  of 
the  Judaic  Law,  was  set  plainly  before  them  by  some  of 
their  friends ;  but  I  pointed  out  Peter's  error  in  one  brief 
appeal  from  his  present  wavering  to  his  own  past  action  ". 

II 


1 62  The  Apostolic  Council.  Chap.  VII. 

From  this  analysis  we  see  that  the  issue  of  the 
situation  impHed  in  Gal.  II  11-14  is  described  in  Acts 
XV  2,  7 :  Barnabas  joined  Paul  in  combating  the  Judais- 
ing  party,  and  Peter  championed  the  cause  in  emphatic 
and  noble  terms  at  the  subsequent  Council  in  Jerusalem. 
That  follows  naturally  on  the  interrupted  narrative  of 
the  Epistle :  the  history  as  related  in  Acts  completes 
and  explains  the  Epistle,  and  enables  us  to  appreciate 
the  force  of  Paul's  argument  and  its  instantaneous  effect 
on  the  Galatian  Churches. 

It  is  an  interesting  point,  that  Peter  used  at  the 
Council  the  argument  in  favour  of  freedom  with  which 
Paul  had  pressed  him  in  Antioch.  Paul  said  to  him. 
In  practice  thou,  a  Jew,  livest  as  do  the  Gentiles ; 
how  then  compellest  thou  the  Gentiles  to  act  according 
to  the  Jewish  Law  ? "  Struck  with  this  argument, 
Peter  puts  it  in  a  more  general  form  to  the  Council, 
'^'  Why  put  a  yoke  on  them  which  neither  we  nor  our 
fathers  could  bear  ? "  It  is  true  to  nature  that  he 
should  employ  to  others  the  argument  that  had  con- 
vinced  himself. 

It  must,  however,  be  confessed  that  while  Galatians 
leads  up  excellently  to  Acts,  and  gains  greatly  in  force 
from  the  additional  facts  mentioned  there.  Acts  is 
silent  about  the  facts  narrated  in  Galatians.  The  eye- 
witness's narrative  gains  from  the  historian  and  stands 
out  in  new  beauty  from  the  comparison  ;  but  here  Acts 
seems  to  lose  by  being  brought  into  juxtaposition  with 
the  narrative  of  the  eye-witness.  To  our  conception  the 
omission  of  all  reference  to  the  wavering  of  Barnabas 
and  Peter  appears  almost  like  the  sacrifice  of  historic 
truth,  and  certainly  loses  a  picturesque  detail.     But  the 


Sec.  2.  The  Dispute  in  Antioch.  163 


difference  of  attitude  and  object,  I  think,  fully  explains 
the  historian's  selection  amid  the  incidents  of  the  con- 
troversy. For  him  picturesque  details  had  no  attrac- 
tion ;  and  the  swerving  of  all  the  Jews  except  Paul  from 
the  right  path  seemed  to  him  an  unessential  fact,  like 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  others  which  he  had  to  leave 
unnoticed.  The  essential  fact  which  he  had  to  record 
was  that  the  controversy  raged,  and  that  Paul  and 
Barnabas  championed  the  cause  of  freedom. 

But,  it  may  be  objected,  Barnabas  had  wavered,  and 
it  is  not  accurate  to  represent  him  as  a  champion  along 
with  Paul.  We  reply  that  Paul  does  not  make  it  clear 
how  far  Barnabas  had  gone  with  the  tide  :  the  matter 
was  one  of  tendency,  more  than  of  complete  separation. 
Peter  began  to  withdraw  and  separate  himself^  from 
familiar  communion  with  the  Gentile  Christian  :  the 
resident  Jews  joined  him  in  concealing  their  real 
sentiment  and  their  ordinary  conduct  towards  the  non- 
Jewish  members  of  the  Church  :  even  Barnabas  was 
carried  off  his  feet  by  the  tide  of  dissembling.  These 
words  would  be  correct,  if  Barnabas  had  merely 
wavered,  and  been  confirmed  by  Paul's  arguments  in 
private.  Paul's  public  rebuke  was  not  addressed  to 
Barnabas,  but  only  to  Peter.  There  is  a  certain  difficulty 
in  the  record  ;  but  I  confess  that,  after  trying  honestly  to 
give  full  emphasis  to  the  difficulty,  I  see  no  reason  why 
we  should  not,  as  the  issue  of  the  facts  in  Gal.  II  11-14, 
conceive  Barnabas  to  have  come  forward  as  a  thorough- 
going advocate  of  the  Pauline  doctrine  and  practice. 

Moreover,  the  difficulty  remains,  and  becomes  far 
more  serious,  on  the  ordinary  view  that  the  incidents  of 

*  Imperfects,  not  aorists. 


1 64  The  Apostolic  Council.  Chap.  VII. 

Gal.  II  11-14  occurred  after  the  Council  in  Jerusalem. 
According  to  that  view,  Barnabas,  when  delegates  came 
from  Jerusalem  {Acts  XV  2,  24),  resisted  them  stren- 
uously, represented  the  cause  of  freedom  as  an  envoy 
to  Jerusalem,  and  obtained  an  authoritative  Decree  from 
the  Apostles  disowning  the  action  of  the  delegates,  and 
emphatically  condemning  it  as  "  subverting  your  souls  "  : 
thereafter  delegates  came  again  from  James,  the  same 
Apostle  that  had  taken  the  foremost  part  in  formulating 
the  recent  Decree  ;  ^  but  this  time  Barnabas,  instead  of 
resisting,  weakly  yielded  to  their  arguments. 

Worse,  almost,  is  the  conduct  of  Peter  in  that  view. 
When  the  case  came  up  before  the  Council  to  be  con- 
sidered in  all  its  bearings  and  solemnly  decided,  he, 
"  after  there  had  been  much  discussion "  (in  which  we 
may  be  sure  that  the  consequences  were  fully  empha- 
sised by  the  Judaising  party),  appeared  as  the  most  out- 
spoken advocate  of  freedom,  and  declared  that  "  we  must 
not  demand  from  them  what  we  ourselves  have  been 
unable  to  endure ".  Shortly  after  the  Council  (on  that 
view),  Peter  went  to  Antioch  and  put  in  practice  the 
principle  of  freedom  for  which  he  had  contended  at  the 
Council.  But  "  certain  persons  came  from  James,"  the 
same  Apostle  that  had  supported  him  in  the  Council ; 
these  persons  reopened  the  controversy ;  and  Peter 
abandoned  his  publicly  expressed  conviction,  which  in 
a  formal  letter  was  declared  with  his  approval  to  be  the 
word  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

We  are  asked  to  accept  as  a  credible  narrative  this 
recital  of  meaningless    tergiversation,  which    attributes  to 

^ "  The  Apostolic  letter  seems  to  have  been  drawn  up  by  him  " 
(Lightfoot,  Ed.  Gal.,  p.  112,  II  12). 


Sec.  2.  The  DispJtte  in  Aiitiocli.  165 

Peter  and  to  Barnabas,  not  ordinary  human  weakness 
and  inability  to  answer  a  grave  issue  at  the  first  moment 
when  it  is  presented  to  them,  but  conduct  devoid  of 
reason  or  sanity.  Who  can  wonder  that  many  who  are 
asked  to  accept  this  as  history,  reply  that  one  of  the 
two  authors  responsible  for  the  two  halves  of  the  recital 
has  erred  and  is  untrustworthy?  For  the  truth  of 
history  itself  one  must  on  that  theory  distrust  one  of 
the  two  documents.  That  is  not  the  faith,  that  is  not 
the  conduct,  which  conquered  the  world !  The  only 
possible  supposition  would  be  that  the  Apostles  were 
men  unusually  weak,  ignorant,  and  inconstant,  who  con- 
tinually went  wrong,  except  where  the  Divine  guidance 
interposed  to  keep  them  right.  That  theory  has  been 
and  is  still  held  by  some ;  but  it  removes  the  whole  de- 
velopment of  Christianity  out  of  the  sphere  of  history 
into  the  sphere  of  the  supernatural  and  the  marvellous, 
whereas  the  hypothesis  on  which  this  investigation  is 
based  is  that  it  was  a  process  intelligible  according  to 
ordinary  human  nature,  and  a  proper  subject  for  the 
modern   historian. 

It  is  true  that  Peter  once  before  denied  his  own 
affirmed  principles,  but  that  was  when  he  was  younger, 
when  he  was  a  mere  pupil,  when  a  terrible  strain  was 
put  on  him  ;  but  this  denial  is  supposed  to  have  been 
made  when  he  was  in  the  maturity  of  his  power,  after 
he  had  experienced  the  quickening  sense  of  responsi- 
bility as  a  leader  of  the  Church  for  many  years,  and 
after  his  mind  and  will  had  been  enlarged  and  strength- 
ened at  the  great  Pentecost  (see  p.  365). 

Further,  according  to  the  view  stated  by  Lightfoot, 
the    feeble   action    of   Peter    and    Barnabas    in    Antioch 


1 66  The  Apostolic  Council.  Chap.  VII. 

produced  lasting  consequences :  it  "  may  have  prepared 
the  way  for  the  dissension  between  Paul  and  Barnabas 
which  shortly  afterwards  led  to  their  separation.  From 
this  time  forward  they  never  appear  again  associated 
together."  If  it  was  so  serious,  the  total  omission  of  it 
by  Luke  becomes  harder  to  understand  and  reconcile  with 
the  duty  of  a  historian  ;  whereas,  if  it  was  (as  we  suppose) 
a  mere  hesitation  when  the  question  was  first  put  explicitly, 
it  was  not  of  sufficient  consequence  to  demand  a  place  in 
his  history. 

Peter's  visit  to  Antioch  was  not  of  the  same  charac- 
ter as  his  visits  to  Samaria  and  other  Churches  at  an 
earlier  time,  in  which  he  was  giving  the  Apostolic  ap- 
proval to  the  congregations  established  there.  The 
first  visit  of  Barnabas  to  Antioch,  followed  by  the  Anti- 
ochian  delegation  to  Jerusalem  (XI  28,  XII  25),  and 
the  recognition  of  Paul  and  Barnabas  as  Apostles  {Gal. 
II  9),  had  placed  Antioch  on  a  recognised  and  inde- 
pendent basis  (XIII  i).  In  Luke's  view,  therefore,  as  in 
Paul's,  Peter's  visit  was  not  a  step  in  the  development  of 
the  Church  in  Antioch,  as  Barnabas's  had  been, 

3.  THE  COUNCIL.  (XV  4)  AND  WHEN  THEY  WERE 
COME  TO  JERUSALEM,  THEY  WERE  RECEIVED  BY  THE 
CHURCH  AND  THE  APOSTLES  AND  THE  ELDERS,  AND 
THEY  REHEARSED  ALL  THINGS  THAT  GOD  HAD  DONE 
WITH  THEM.  (5)  BUT  THERE  ROSE  UP  CERTAIN  OF 
THE  SECT  OF  THE  PHARISEES  WHO  BELIEVED,  SAYING, 
"  IT  IS  NEEDFUL  TO  CIRCUMCISE  THEM,  AND  TO 
CHARGE  THEM  TO  KEEP  THE  LAW  OF  MOSES  ".  (6) 
AND  THE  APOSTLES  AND  THE  ELDERS  WERE 
GATHERED  TOGETHER  TO  CONSIDER  OF  THIS  MATTER. 
(7)   AND    WHEN    THERE    HAD     BEEN    MUCH    DISCUSSION, 


Sec.  3.  The  Council.  167 

PETER  ROSE  AND  SPOKE.  ...  (l2)  AND  ALL  THE 
MULTITUDE  KEPT  SILENCE  ;  AND  THEY  HEARKENED 
UNTO  BARNABAS  AND  PAUL,  WHO  REHEARSED  WHAT 
SIGNS  AND  WONDERS  GOD  HAD  WROUGHT  AMONG 
THE  NATIONS  BY  THEM.  (13)  AND  AFTER  THEY  HAD 
CEASED,    JAMES    SPOKE. 

At  Jerusalem  there  occurred  in  the  first  place  a 
general  meeting  of  the  Church  as  a  whole  to  receive 
and  welcome  the  delegates.  The  Apostles  and  the 
Elders  are  specified  as  taking  part  in  the  meeting  ;  and 
the  separate  article  before  each  name  implies  distinct 
action  of  each  body.  At  this  meeting  the  delegates 
explained  the  circumstances  which  had  caused  their 
mission ;  and  the  extreme  members  of  the  Judaising 
party,  who  are  described  here  as  Pharisees,  stated  their 
view  forthwith. 

A  mark  of  the  developed  situation  since  Paul's  last 
visit  must  be  noted  in  v.  4.  Paul  and  Barnabas  now 
expound  in  a  formal  and  public  way  all  their  missionary 
experience ;  but  on  their  previous  visit,  Paul  privately 
submitted  to  the  leaders  of  the  Church  his  views  as  to 
missionary  enterprise. 

Thereupon,  a  special  meeting  of  the  Apostles  and  the 
Elders  was  held  to  consider  the  matter,  and  a  long  dis- 
cussion took  place.  Peter  delivered  a  speech  in  favour 
of  complete  freedom  for  the  new  converts  ;  and  the  effect 
which  he  produced  was  shown  by  the  patient  hearing 
accorded  to  Barnabas  and  to  Paul,  as  they  recounted 
the  proofs  of  Divine  grace  and  Divine  action  in  the 
Gentile  congregations  :  these  congregations  fulfilled  the 
test  that  God  was  with  them.  Thus,  the  course  of  the 
meeting  was  very  similar  to  the  discussion  that  followed 


1 68  The  Apostolic  Council.  Chap.  VII. 

after  the  conversion  of  Cornelius  (XI  1-18).  The 
general  sense  was  clearly  against  the  claim  of  the  ex- 
treme Judaistic  party  (called  "them  of  the  circumcision" 
XI  2,  Gal.  II   12). 

But,  while  the  champions  of  circumcision  were  clearly 
in  the  minority,  apparently  a  decided  feeling  was  manifest 
in  favour  of  some  concessions  to  the  Jewish  feeling  and 
practice  :  the  Nations  were  to  be  received  into  the  Church, 
but  the  widened  Church  was  not  to  be  apart  from  and 
independent  of  the  old  Jewish  community :  it  was  to  be 
"  a  rebuilding  of  the  tabernacle  of  David  ".  To  render 
possible  a  real  unanimity  of  feeling,  the  Nations  must 
accept  the  fundamental  regulations  of  purity.  The 
chairman's  speech  summed  up  the  sense  of  the  meeting 
in  a  way  that  was  universally  accepted.  James,  the 
recognised  head  of  the  Church  in  Jerusalem,  said  : — 

(XV  14)  SYMEON  HATH  REHEARSED  HOW  FIRST  GOD 
TOOK  CARE  TO  GATHER  FROM  AMONG  THE  NATIONS 
A  PEOPLE  FOR  HIS  NAME.  (15)  AND  TO  THIS  AGREE 
THE  WORDS  OF  THE  PROPHETS:  AS  IT  IS  Vi^RITTEN, 
(16)  "  I  WILL  BUILD  AGAIN  THE  TABERNACLE  OF 
DAVID,  (17)  THAT  THE  RESIDUE  OF  MEN  MAY  SEEK 
AFTER  THE  LORD,  AND  ALL  THE  NATIONS,  OVER 
WHOM  MY  NAME  IS  PRONOUNCED,"  SAITH  THE  LORD, 
WHO  MAKETH  THESE  THINGS  (18)  KNOWN  FROM  THE 
BEGINNING  OF  TIME.^  (19)  WHEREFORE  MY  VOICE  IS 
THAT  WE  TROUBLE  NOT  THEM  WHICH  FROM  AMONG 
THE  NATIONS  TURN  TO  GOD  ;  (20)  BUT  SEND  IN- 
STRUCTIONS      TO       THEM       TO       ABSTAIN        FROM       THE 

1  The  Bezan  Text,  and  many  other  authorities,  have  "  saith  the 
Lord  who  doeth  this.  (18)  Known  to  the  Lord  from  the  beginning 
of  time  is  His  work." 


Sec.  3,  The  Council.  169 

POLLUTIONS  OF  IDOLS  AND  FROM  MARRIAGE  WITHIN 
THE  DEGREES  FORBIDDEN  BY  THE  LAW,  AND  FROM 
WHAT  IS  STRANGLED,  AND  FROM  the  use  of  BLOOD 
as  food.  (21)  FOR  MOSES  FROM  ANCIENT  GENERA- 
TIONS HATH  IN  EVERY  CITY  THEM  THAT  PREACH  HIM, 
AS  HE  IS  READ  IN  THE  SYNAGOGUES   EVERY  SABBATH. 

James  grounds  his  advice  for  partial  conformity  on 
the  fact,  V.  21,  that  the  Mosaic  Law  had  already 
spread  widely  over  the  cities  of  the  empire,  and  that 
the  existing  facts  which  facilitated  intercourse  between 
Jews  and  "  God-fearing "  pagans  should  be  continued. 
He  grounds  his  advice  for  freedom  from  the  rest  of  the 
Law  on  the  declared  will  of  God,  first  by  prophecy  in 
time  long  past,  and  afterwards  by  revelation  to  Peter, 
that  the  Nations  should  be  admitted  to  the  tabernacle 
of  David,  from  which  he  infers  that  their  own  duty  is 
to  make  admission  easy. 

"  Incidentally  we  observe  that  James  used  the  Septua- 
gint  Version,  quoting  loosely  from  Amos  IX  11,  12,  a 
passage  where  the  telling  point  for  his  purpose  occurs 
only  in  the  Greek  and  not  in  the  Hebrew  Version. 

Another  point  of  development  since  Paul's  second 
visit  to  Jerusalem  must  be  noticed  here.  On  the  second 
visit,  as  Paul  declares,  the  recognised  leaders  in 
Jerusalem  gave  him  no  advice  and  no  instruction,  except 
to  remember  the  poverty  of  the  brethren  there.  It 
would  be  hard  to  put  that  in  more  emphatic  terms  than 
he  uses  (p.  56).  But  on  the  third  visit,  the  delegates 
bring  a  question  for  settlement,  and  receive  from  the 
recognised  leaders  in  Jerusalem  an  authoritative  response, 
giving  a  weighty  decision  in  a  serious  matter  of  practical 
work,  a  decision    that    would    have    been    epoch-making. 


1 70  The  Apostolic  Council.  Chap.  VI  I. 

if  it  had  been  permanently  carried  into  effect.  On  the 
second  visit  the  difficulty  could  be  foreseen  ;  between 
the  second  and  third  visit  it  became  acute ;  at  the 
third  visit  it  was  settled  in  a  way  that  was  a  distinct 
rebuff  to  the  Judaising  party,  but  not  a  complete 
triumph  for  the  party  of  freedom.  It  would  not  be 
honest  to  use  the  words  of  Gal.  II  10  about  the  visit 
described  in  Acts  XV. 

Another  contrast  between  the  second  and  the  third 
visit  must  be  observed.  The  Church  sent  forth  several 
delegates  along  with  Paul  and  Barnabas  on  the  third 
journey  ;  but  on  the  second  they  were  the  sole  delegates. 
The  common  view,  which  identifies  the  second  visit  of 
Gal.  II  i-io  with  the  third  visit  of  Acts  XV,  is  defended 
by  its  supporters  on  the  ground  that  Titus,  who  went 
along  with  Paul  {Gal.  II  i),  was  one  of  the  additional 
delegates  mentioned,  XV  2.  This  argument  sins  against 
the  facts.  In  Gal.  II  i  Titus  is  defined  as  a  sub- 
ordinate, and  not  as  one  of  the  delegates  ;  ^  we 
have  no  reason  to  think  that  any  subordinates  went 
up  to  the  Council,  whereas  it  was  necessary  for  the  work 
of  the  second  visit  to  use  assistants.  Moreover,  we  may 
be  certain  that,  if  Paul  did  take  any  subordinates  with 
him  to  the  Council,  he  was  too  prudent  and  diplomatic 
to  envenom  a  situation  already  serious  and  difficult  by 
taking  an  uncircumcised  Greek  with  him.  It  was  differ- 
ent on  a  later  visit,  when  the  authoritative  decree  had 
decided  against  circumcision,  or  on  an  earlier  visit, 
before  the  question  was  raised  ;  but  when  that  question 
was  under  discussion,  it  would  have  been  a  harsh  and 
heedless    hurt    to  the   susceptibilities  of  the   other  party, 

^ avfiTTnpaXdiioov,  cp.  XII  25  and  pp.  59,  71,  177. 


Sec.  3.  The   Cotcncil,  i  J  i 

to  take  Titus  with  him  ;  and  Paul  never  was  guilty  of 
such  an  act.  The  example  of  Timothy  shows  how  far 
he  went  about  this  time  in  avoiding  any  chance  of  hurting 

Jewish  feeling. 

4.     THE     DECREE.     (XV   22)   THEN    IT    SEEMED    GOOD 
TO     THE     APOSTLES    AND     ELDERS,    WITH     THE     WHOLE 
CHURCH,    TO     CHOOSE    MEN    OUT    OF    THEIR     COMPANY, 
AND      SEND      THEM       TO      ANTIOCH     WITH      PAUL      AND 
BARNABAS,     namely,     JUDAS     CALLED      BARSABBAS,      AND 
SILAS,   CHIEF    MEN   AMONG    THE    BRETHREN.       (23)  AND 
THEY  SENT  A  LETTER  BY  THEIR   MEANS:   "THE  APOSTLES 
AND   THE   ELDERS   [BRETHREN]  ^    UNTO    THE    BRETHREN 
WHICH   ARE   OF   THE    NATIONS    IN   ANTIOCH   AND    SYRIA 
AND      CILICIA,      GREETING.        (24)     FORASMUCH     AS     WE 
HAVE   HEARD   THAT    CERTAIN   WHICH    WENT   OUT   FROM 
US    HAVE    TROUBLED    YOU     WITH     WORDS,    SUBVERTING 
YOUR   SOULS  ;    TO   WHOM   WE    GAVE   NO  COMMANDMENT  ; 
(25)   IT   SEEMED   GOOD   UNTO   US,  HAVING   COME   TO   ONE 
ACCORD,   TO   CHOOSE    OUT    MEN   AND   SEND   THEM   UNTO 
YOU   WITH    OUR    BELOVED    BARNABAS    AND   PAUL,       (26) 
MEN     THAT     HAVE     HAZARDED     THEIR    LIVES    FOR    THE 
NAME    OF    OUR     LORD     JESUS    CHRIST.        (27)    WE    HAVE 
SENT   THEREFORE    JUDAS   AND   SILAS,  WHO   THEMSELVES 
ALSO    SHALL    TELL    YOU    THE    SAME    THINGS    BY    WORD 
OF   MOUTH.      (28)    FOR   IT    SEEMED   GOOD   TO   THE   HOLY 
SPIRIT,  AND    TO    US,   TO    LAY    UPON    YOU    NO    GREATER 
BURDEN   THAN    THESE    NECESSARY   THINGS.       (29)   THAT 
YE   ABSTAIN   FROM    THINGS    SACRIFICED    TO   IDOLS,   AND 
j[ROM     BLOOD,     AND     FROM     THINGS     STRANGLED,     AND 
FROM    MARRIAGE   WITHIN    THE   DEGREES;    FROM   WHICH 

1  Dr.  Blass's  explanation  of  this  word  as  an  accidental  corrup- 
tion is  highly  probable. 


172  The  Apostolic  Council.  Chap.  VII. 


IF  YE  KEEP  YOURSELVES,  IT  SHALL  BE  WELL  WITH  YOU. 
FARE  YE  WELL." 

The  Decree  is,  as  Lightfoot  says,  a  compromise.  On 
the  one  hand  the  extreme  Judaising  party  is  entirely 
disowned  and  emphatically  condemned,  as  "  subverting 
the  souls  "  of  the  Gentiles.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  part 
of  the  Law  is  declared  to  be  obligatory ;  and  the  word 
selected  is  very  emphatic  (eVaz/aY/ce?).  If  this  word  be 
taken  in  its  full  sense,  the  Decree  lacks  unity  of  purpose 
and  definiteness  of  principle  ;  it  passes  lamely  from  side 
to  side.  Now  it  seems  impossible  to  suppose  that  Paul 
could  have  accepted  a  Decree  which  declared  mere  points 
of  ritual  to  be  compulsory  ;  and  one  of  them  he  after- 
wards emphatically  declared  to  be  not  compulsory  (I  Cor. 
VIII  4  f).  But  those  who  had  listened  to  the  speeches  of 
Peter  and  James,  and  were  familiar  with  the  situation  in 
which  the  question  had  emerged,  were  prepared  to  look 
specially  at  the  exordium  with  its  emphatic  condemnation 
of  the  Judaising  party  ;  and  thereafter,  doubtless,  they 
took  the  concluding  part  as  a  recommendation,  and  re- 
garded the  four  points  as  strongly  advised  in  the  interests 
of  peace  and  unity. 

But  the  real  power  of  a  law  lies  in  its  positive  enact- 
ment ;  and  most  people  would  look  only  to  what  the 
Decree  ordered.  Now,  whether  or  not  the  last  sentences 
must  bear  the  sense,  they  certainly  may  naturally  bear 
the  sense,  that  part  of  the  Law  was  absolutely  compul- 
sory for  salvation,  and  that  the  Nations  were  released 
from  the  rest  as  a  concession  to  their  weakness :  "  we  lay 
on  you  no  greater  burden  than  these  necessary  condi- 
tions ".  This  seemed  to  create  two  grades  of  Christians : 
a  lower  class  of  weaker  persons,  who   could  not  observe 


Sec.  4.  The  Decree. 


16 


the  whole  Law,  but  only  the  compulsory  parts  of  it, 
and  a  higher  class,  who  were  strong  enough  to  obey 
the  whole  Law.  The  Gentile  Christians  were  familiar  in 
the  pagan  religions  with  distinctions  of  grade  ;  for  stages 
of  initiation  into  the  Mysteries  existed  everywhere. 
It  was  almost  inevitable  that  a  Decree,  which  lays 
down  no  clear  and  formal  principle  of  freedom,  should 
in  practice  be  taken  as  making  a  distinction  between 
strong  and  weak,  between  more  and  less  advanced 
Christians  ;  and  it  is  certain  that  it  was  soon  taken  in 
that  sense. 

The  question  is  often  asked,  why  this  letter  was  not 
addressed  also  to  the  Churches  of  Galatia ;  and  several 
answers  are  suggested.  But  the  answer  which  seems 
obvious  from  our  point  of  view  is  that  the  letter  was 
addressed  only  to  those  who  asked  the  question.  The 
provincial  organisation  of  the  Church  began  through  the 
compulsion  of  circumstances  (p.  135)  :  there  must  either 
be  a  provincial  organisation  or  no  organisation.  The 
principle,  when  it  has  been  once  stated,  is  self-evident. 
Circumstances  made  Antioch  the  centre  of  the  Church 
in  the  province  Syria  and  Cilicia  ;  and  the  address  of 
this  letter  attests  the  recognition  of  that  fact  and  its 
consequences. 

Hence,  when  Paul  went  forth  on  his  next  journey,  he 
did  not  communicate  the  Decree  to  the  Churches  in  Syria 
and  Cilicia,  XV  41,  because  they  had  already  received 
it,  when  it  was  first  sent  out.  But,  when  he  and  Silas 
reached  Galatia,  "  they  delivered  them  the  decrees  for  to 
keep,  which  had  been  ordained  of  the  Apostles  and 
Elders,"  XVI  4.  But  the  Bezan  Reviser,  not  understand- 
ing  this   delicate    distinction,   interpolated   the  statement 


1 74  The  Apostolic  Council.  Chap.  VII. 

in  XV  41,  that  Paul  and  Silas  "delivered  the  instructions 
of  the  Apostles  and  Elders  ". 

5.  THE  RETURN  TO  ANTIOCH.  (XV  30)  SO  THEY, 
BEING  SET  FREE  TO  DEPART,  CAME  DOWN  TO  ANTI- 
OCH ;  AND  HAVING  GATHERED  THE  MULTITUDE  TO- 
GETHER, THEY  DELIVERED  THE  LETTER.  (31)  AND 
WHEN  THEY  HAD  READ  IT,  THEY  REJOICED  AT  THE 
ENCOURAGEMENT.  (32)  AND  JUDAS  AND  SILAS  ON 
THEIR  OWN  ACCOUNT  ALSO,  INASMUCH  AS  THEY  WERE 
PROPHETS,  ENCOURAGED  THE  BRETHREN  AT  GREAT 
LENGTH,  AND  CONFIRMED  THEM.  {l^^)  AND  AFTER 
THEY  HAD  SPENT  SOME  TIME,  THEY  WERE  SET  FREE 
BY  THE  BRETHREN  TO  DEPART  IN  PEACE  TO  THEM 
THAT  SENT  THEM  FORTH  ;  (34)  But  it  pleased  Silas  to 
abide  there  still  (35)  AND  PAUL  AND  BARNABAS 
TARRIED  IN  ANTIOCH,  TEACHING  AND  PREACHING  THE 
WORD  OF  THE  LORD,  WITH  MANY  OTHERS  ALSO.  (^^6) 
AND   AFTER   CERTAIN   DAYS   PAUL   SAID   .   .   . 

As  in  XI  24,  so  here,  v.  32,  the  qualification  of  Judas 
and  Silas  for  exhorting  the  congregation  is  carefully- 
stated.  Luke  lays  such  evident  stress  on  proper  quali- 
fication, that  he  seems  to  have  considered  Divine  gifts 
necessary  in  any  one  that  was  to  address  a  congrega- 
tion  (p.  45). 

After  the  Council,  Paul  and  Barnabas  returned  to 
heir  ordinary  duties  in  Antioch,  where  the  number  of 
r]iialified  prophets  and  teachers  was  now  larger  than  in 
XIII  I.  They  remained  there  a  short  time  {v.  36,  cp. 
IX  19,  23).  The  second  journey  began  probably  in  the 
spring  of  the  year  50. 

At  some  period  v.  34  was  deliberately  omitted  from  the 
text,   from   the   mistaken   idea   that   v.    33    declared    the 


Sec.  5-  The  Rclnrn  to  Antioch.  175 

actual  departure  of  Judas  and  Silas  :  but  the  officials  of 
the  Church  in  Antioch  (the  Elders  ?)  simply  informed 
Judas  and  Silas  that  their  duties  were  concluded  and 
they  were  free  to  return  home,  and  Silas  did  not  avail 
himself  of  the  permission.  Considering  how  XII  25 
prepares  the  way  for  XIII  5,  we  must  hold  that  XV  34 
is  genuine  and  prepares  for  XV  40 ;  and  the  fact  that 
the  Bezan  Reviser  found  34  in  the  text  and  added  to 
it  the  comment  "  and  Judas  went  alone,"  constitutes  a 
distinct  proof  of  its  genuineness.  It  is  not  that  any  diffi- 
culty need  be  found  in  Paul  selecting  Silas  from  Jerusalem, 
for  Barnabas  here  takes  Mark  from  Jerusalem  (XIII  13). 
But  it  is  one  of  the  points  of  Luke's  style  to  furnish  the 
material  for  understanding  a  new  departure,  and  the  very 
marked  statement  that  Silas  voluntarily  remained,  when 
his  official  duty  was  declared  to  be  at  an  end,  makes  the 
next  event  much  more  intelligible  (p.  176).  There  is  in 
the  sequence  of  thought  33-4  a  certain  harshness  (charac- 
teristic of  Luke  when  he  wants  to  draw  attention  to  a 
point)  ;  and  this  led  to  the  omission  of  34  in  the  great 
MSS,  and  by  many  modern  editors. 

6.THE  SEPARATION  OF  PAUL  AND  BARNABAS. 
(XV  36)  AND  AFTER  SOME  DAYS  PAUL  SAID  UNTO 
BARNABAS,  "LET  US  RETURN  NOW  AND  VISIT  THE 
BRETHREN  IN  EVERY  CITY  WHEREIN  WE  PROCLAIMED 
THE  WORD  OF  THE  LORD,  HOW  THEY  FARE".  (37) 
AND  BARNABAS  WAS  MINDED  TO  TAKE  WITH  THEM 
JOHN  ALSO,  WHO  WAS  CALLED  MARK.  (38)  BUT  PAUL 
THOUGHT  NOT  GOOD  TO  TAKE  WITH  THEM  HIM  THAT 
WITHDREW  FROM  THEM  FROM  PAMPHYLIA  AND  WENT 
NOT  WITH  THEM  TO  THE  WORK.  (39)  AND  THERE 
AROSE  A   SHARP    CONTENTION,    SO    THAT    THEY   PARTED 


1 76  The  Apostolic  Council.  Chap.  VII. 

ASUNDER  ONE  FROM  THE  OTHER  ;  AND  BARNABAS 
TOOK  MARK  WITH  HIM,  AND  SAILED  AWAY  UNTO 
CYPRUS  ;  (40)  BUT  PAUL  CHOSE  SILAS  AND  WENT 
FORTH,  BEING  COMMENDED  BY  THE  BRETHREN  TO  THE 
GRACE  OF  THE  LORD  :  AND  HE  WENT  THROUGH  SYRIA 
AND   CILICIA,    CONFIRMING   THE   CHURCHES. 

Barnabas  here  passes  out  of  this  history.  The  tradition, 
as  stated  in  the  apocryphal  Periodoi  BarnabcE,  a  very  late 
work,  was  that  he  remained  in  Cyprus  till  his  death  ;  and 
the  fact  that  Mark  reappears  at  a  later  stage  without  Bar- 
nabas, is  in  agreement.  At  any  rate  his  work,  wherever  it 
was  carried  on,  did  not,  in  Luke's  estimation,  contribute  to 
work  out  the  idea  of  the  organised  and  unified  Church. 
That  idea  was  elaborated  in  Paul's  work  ;  and  the  history 
is  guided  by  Paul's  activity  from  the  moment  when  he 
began  to  be  fully  conscious  of  the  true  nature  of  his  work. 
Others  contributed  to  the  earlier  stages,  but,  as  it  pro- 
ceeded, all  the  other  personages  became  secondary,  and 
Paul  more  and  more  the  single  moving  genius. 

The  choice  of  Silas  was,  of  course,  due  to  his  special 
fitness  for  the  work,  which  had  been  recognised  during 
his  ministration  in  Antioch.  Doubtless  he  had  shown 
tact  and  sympathy  in  managing  the  questions  arising 
from  the  relations  of  the  Gentile  Christians  to  the  Jews. 
His  sympathies  had  also  been  shown  by  his  preferring 
to  remain  in  the  mixed  and  freer  congregation  in  Antioch, 
when  he  had  been  at  liberty  to  return  to  Jerusalem. 

The  name  Silas  is  a  familiar  diminutive  of  Silvanus ; 
and  the  full  and  more  dignified  form  is  employed  in 
the  superscription  of  the  two  letters  to  the  Thessalonians. 
Silvanus  is  a  Latin  name  ;  and  Silas  is  implied  in  XVI  37 
to   have   been   a   Roman    citizen.       It  may,  however,  be 


Sec.  6.     The  Separ'ation  of  Paul  and  Barnabas.     177 

looked  on  as  certain  that  he  was  a  Hebrew,  for  only  a 
Hebrew  would  have  been  a  leading  man  among  the 
Brethren  at  Jerusalem  (XV  22).  His  double  character, 
Hebrew  and  Roman,  was  in  itself  a  qualification  for  a 
coadjutor  of  Paul  ;  and,  doubtless,  the  Roman  side  of  his 
character  caused  that  freedom  from  narrow  Judaistic  pre- 
judice which  shines  through  his  action. 

It  appears  from  the  term  employed  in  v.  40  that 
Silas  took  the  place  of  Barnabas,  not  of  Mark.  The 
latter  was  a  mere  unofficial  companion  in  every  case,  as 
is  shown  by  the  word  used.^  The  verbs  in  the  next 
few  verses  are  all  singular  ;  though  it  is  clear  that  Silas 
is  concerned  in  many  of  the  actions.  The  singular  was 
preferred  by  Luke  because  certain  of  the  actions  were 
special  to  Paul,  the  choosing  of  Silas  and  of  Timothy. 
There  is  a  decided  harshness  in  the  narrative  that  follows, 
owing  to  the  variation  between  the  singular  and  the 
plural.  At  some  points  in  the  action  Paul  monopolises 
the  author's  attention  ;  and  probably  the  expression 
harsh  though  it  be  grammatically,  corresponds  to  the 
facts.  At  the  opening  of  the  journey  Paul  alone  is  the 
subject :  now  at  the  opening  the  new  comrade  was  un- 
trained to  the  work.  After  a  time  the  plural  begins, 
XVI  4,  and,  wherever  traveling  is  described,  it  is  em- 
ployed ;  but,  when  the  direction  given  to  missionary 
work  is  alluded  to,  Silas  disappears,  and  Paul  alone  i? 
the  subject,  XVH  2. 

*  avfxTTupa'Xaii^dva  XII  25,  XV  37,  p.  1 70. 


12 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

HISTORY   OF   THE   CHURCHES   OF   GALATIA. 

I.  THE  VISIT  OF  PAUL  AND  SILAS.  (XVI  l)  AND 
HE  CAME  ALSO  TO  DERBE  AND  TO  LYSTRA  ;  AND  BEHOLD 
A  CERTAIN  DISCIPLE  WAS  THERE  NAMED  TIMOTHY,  THE 
SON  OF  A  JEWESS  WHICH  BELIEVED  ;  BUT  HIS  FATHER 
WAS  A  GREEK.  (2)  THE  SAME  HAD  A  GOOD  REPUTA- 
TION AMONG  THE  BRETHREN  THAT  WERE  IN  LYSTRA 
AND    ICONIUM.  (3)     HIM    WOULD    PAUL    HAVE    TO    GO 

FORTH  WITH  HIM  ;  AND  HE  TOOK  AND  CIRCUMCISED 
HIM  BECAUSE  OF  THE  JEWS  THAT  WERE  IN  THOSE 
PARTS,  FOR  THEY  ALL  KNEW  THAT  HIS  FATHER  WAS 
A  GREEK.  (4)  AND  AS  THEY  WERE  PASSING  THROUGH 
THE  CITIES,  THEY  in  each  DELIVERED  THEM  THE 
DECREES  FOR  TO  KEEP,  WHICH  HAD  BEEN  ORDAINED 
OF  THE  APOSTLES  AND  ELDERS  THAT  WERE  AT  JERU- 
SALEM. (5)  THE  CHURCHES  THEN  WERE  STRENGTHENED 
IN  THE  FAITH,  AND  INCREASED  IN  NUMBER  DAILY.  (6) 
AND  THEY  MADE  A  MISSIONARY  PROGRESS  THROUGH 
THE  PHRYGIAN  REGION  OF  tJie  province  GALATIA  {the 
Phygo-Galatic  Region). 

In  V.  I  it  is  implied  that  Derbe  and  Lystra  are  a  pair, 
constituting  a  district  (p.  110).  The  work  of  this  journey 
is  divided  according  to  districts:  (i)  Syria  and  Cilicia,  a 

U7^) 


Sec.  I.  The  Visit  of  Paul  and  Silas.  179 

single  Roman  province  ;  (2)  Derbe  and  Lystra,  a  region 
of  the  province  Galatia,  which  is  here  indicated  by  its  two 
cities  as  the  most  convenient  way,  because  in  one  of  them 
a  considerable  halt  had  to  be  described  ;  (3)  the  Phrygian 
region  of  the  province  Galatia ;  (4)  Asia,  where  preaching 
was  forbidden,  was  traversed  transversely  to  its  north- 
western point  after  an  unsuccessful  effort  to  enter  the 
province  Bithynia  for  missionary  purposes.  Between 
Cilicia  and  Derbe  the  great  realm  of  Antiochus  is  omitted 
from  the  narrative,  as  being  a  non-Roman  territory  and  out 
of  Paul's  plans. 

Derbe  and  Lystra  are  grouped  together  as  a  Region, 
but  the  author  dwells  only  on  Lystra.  The  only  reason 
why  they  are  grouped  together  and  separated  from  the 
districts  that  precede  and  follow,  lies  in  the  Roman  classi- 
fication, which  made  them  a  group.  But  in  order  to  mark 
that  Lystra  alone  is  referred  to  in  the  sequel,  the  historian 
repeats  the  preposition  before  it :  "  he  came  to  Derbe  and 
to  Lystra  ". 

In  V.  2  Lystra  and  Iconium  are  grouped  together  as  the 
district  where  Timothy  was  well  known.  It  is  implied 
that  he  was  not  known  at  Derbe.  This  again  is  true  to 
the  facts  of  commerce  and  intercourse.  Lystra  is  much 
nearer  Iconium  than  it  is  to  Derbe ;  and  geographically, 
Lystra  goes  along  with  Iconium,  while  Derbe  goes  with 
Laranda  and  that  part  of  Lycaonia.  Neither  blood  nor 
Roman  classification  could  prevent  commerce  from  running 
in  its  natural  channels  (XIV  19).  The  nearest  city  to 
Iconium  was  Lystra,  and  the  nearest  to  Lystra  was 
Iconium  ;  and  the  relations  between  them  must  always  be 
close. 

The  historian  is  careful  to  add  in  this  case,  as  he  does 


i8o    History  of  the  Chtirches  of  Galatia.    Chap.  VI 1 1. 


about  the  Seven  Deacons  (VI  3),  about  Cornelius  (X  22, 
cp.  2),  and  as  Paul  does  about  Ananias  (XXII  12),  and 
as  is  implied  in  I  21,  that  Timothy  had  so  lived  as  to 
bear  a  good  character  in  the  district  where  he  was  known. 
It  is  not  meant  that  Paul  went  about  taking  the  opinion 
of  Lystra  and  Iconium  about  Timothy,  any  more  than 
it  is  meant  in  X  22  that  Cornelius's  messengers  went 
collecting  evidence  about  him  all  over  Palestine :  we  may 
be  sure  that  in  such  a  selection  Paul  depended  on  his  own 
insight,  guided  perhaps  by  Divine  approval.  The  author 
adds  this  information  about  the  good  repute  of  Timothy^ 
because  he  considered  good  repute  one  of  the  conditions 
of  appointment  to  any  office  however  humble  in  the 
Church.  He  is  interested  in  all  questions  of  organisation  ; 
and  we  may  compare  what  he  says  about  the  qualifica- 
tion of  preachers  (pp.  45,  174).  As  a  point  of  literary 
style  we  note  that  the  event  of  a  new  and  important 
character  is  marked  by  an  unusually  detailed  account 
of  him. 

We  infer  from  the  expression  that  in  iw.  1-3  Paul  and 
Silas  have  not  gone  beyond  Lystra  ;  and  that  it  is  a 
misconception  to  think  that  in  v.  2  Paul  is  in  Iconium. 
At  Lystra  Paul  felt  that,  along  the  route  which  he  in- 
tended to  take,  the  Jews  knew  Timothy's  father  to  be  a 
Greek  :  he  was  going  along  a  frequented  route  of  trade, 
on  which  were  colonies  of  Jews  in  communication  with 
each  other,  for  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  his  plan  was 
to  go  by  Iconium  and  Antioch  into  Asia.  The  opinion 
has  sometimes  been  held  that  at  this  point  Paul  abandoned 
the  visitation  of  his  Churches  as  contemplated  in  XV  36  ; 
and  that  "the  fact  that  God  put  this  companion  in 
his  way  served  as  a  warning  to  him  to  go  direct  from 


Sec.  I.  The   Visit  of  Paul  and  Silas.  i8i 

Lykaonia  to  a  new  mission-field  "  (see  Weiss's  note 
on  XVI  2).  But,  on  the  contrary,  our  view  is  that, 
when  Luke  records  any  deliberately  formed  intention 
on  Paul's  part,  he  leaves  us  to  understand  that  it  was 
carried  out,  if  no  intimation  to  the  contrary  is  given 
(p,  342) ;  and  that  Timothy  here  was  taken  as  companion 
for  the  route  as  first  planned,  to  fill  the  place  of  John 
Mark  on  the  previous  journey.  There  seems  no  reason 
to  think  (as  Blass  does)  that  one  or  more  subordinates 
accompanied  Paul  from  Syrian  Antioch.  It  is  not  im- 
probable that  Paul,  owing  to  previous  experience,  thought 
of  Timothy  as  a  companion  even  before  he  left  Antioch. 

Paul  then  proceeded  on  his  intended  route  through 
the  Phrygian  Region  of  the  province,  whose  two  cities 
visited  on  the  previous  journey  were  Iconium  and  Pisidian 
Antioch.  The  cities  are  not  specially  named,  as  nothing 
striking  or  important  occurred  in  either.  It  is  implied 
that  no  Church  had  been  founded  on  the  former  journey 
in  Pisidia  or  Pamphylia ;  and  hence  Paul  had  no 
Churches  to  review  and  confirm  there.  The  reference 
to  Pisidia  (a  Region  of  the  province  Galatia)  in  XIV  24 
does  not  suggest  that  any  success  was  attained  there ; 
and  we  may  find  in  the  list  of  I  Peter  I  i  a  clear  proof 
that  there  was  no  Church  in  Pamphylia  at  a  date  con- 
siderably later.  That  list  is  clearly  intended  to  exhaust 
the  Church  in  Asia  Minor;  and  it  mentions  every  pro- 
vince except  Lycia  and  Pamphylia  (which,  therefore,  did 
not  yet  contain  any  Churches,  and  seem  to  have  long 
resisted  Christianity),  and  Cilicia,  which  was  part  of  Syria. 
The  list,  incidentally,  shows  that  already  in  the  first 
century  a  certain  coherence  was  perceptible  between  the 
various   Churches  of  Asia   Minor,   as   distinguished   from 


1 82   History  of  the  Churches  of  Galatia.     Chap.  VIII. 

Syria  and  Cilicia.  That  springs  naturally  from  the 
political  conditions,  and  it  grew  stronger  as  time  passed, 
until  the  two  divisions  became  the  patriarchates  of  Con- 
stantinople and  of  Antioch. 

At  this  point  Luke  inserts  an  account  of  Paul's  action 
in  the  cities  through  which  he  was  making  his  way.  It 
is  in  his  style  to  put  this  account  near  the  beginning  and 
expect  the  reader  to  apply  it  in  all  subsequent  cases  (p, 
72).  It  does  not  apply  to  Cilicia  (p.  173),  and  could  not 
therefore  be  given  sooner.  In  each  city  Paul  and  Silas 
delivered  the  Decree,  and  urged  the  Gentile  converts  to 
observe  the  necessary  points  of  Jewish  ritual ;  and  every- 
where the  congregations  were  vigorous  and  growing.  We 
cannot  mistake  the  emphasis  laid  by  the  historian  on  Paul's 
loyal  determination  to  carry  out  the  Apostolic  Decree, 
and  his  anxiety  to  go  as  far  as  was  honestly  possible 
in  the  way  of  conciliating  the  Jews :  that  is  in  keeping 
with  his  view  that  the  entire  blame  for  the  rupture  between 
Paul  and  the  Jews  lay  with  the  latter.  But,  if  Paul  was 
so  anxious  at  this  time  to  recommend  the  Decree  to  his 
converts,  why  does  he  never  refer  to  it  in  any  of  his  subse- 
quent letters,  even  where  he  touches  on  points  that  were 
formally  dealt  with  in  the  Decree,  and  why  does  he  give 
advice  to  the  Corinthians  about  meat  offered  to  idols, 
which  certainly  strains  the  Decree  to  the  utmost,  if  it  be 
not  actually  inconsistent  with  it?  The  explanation  lies 
in  the  immediate  consequences  of  his  action  in  the  Gala- 
tian  Churches. 

2.  THE  DESERTION  OF  THE  GALATIANS.  Soon 
after  Paul  left  the  province  Galatia,  there  came  to  it  mis- 
sionaries of  the  Judaising  party,  who  taught  the  Galatian 
Churches  to  take  that  view  of  the  Apostolic  Decree  which 


Sec.  2.  The  Desertion  of  the  Galatians.  i8 


a 


we  have  described  on  p.  172  f.  They  pointed  out  that 
Paul  himself  recognised  the  principle  that  circumcision  was 
needed  for  the  higher  grade  of  Christian  service  ;  for  when 
he  selected  Timothy  for  a  position  of  responsibility  in  the 
Church,  he,  as  a  preliminary,  performed  the  rite  on  him  ; 
and  they  declared  that  thereby  he  w.^s,  in  effect,  "  preach- 
ing circumcision"  {Gal.  V  11).  Further,  they  threw 
doubt  on  his  sincerity  in  this  act ;  and  insinuated  that  he 
was  reluctantly  complying  with  necessity,  in  order  to 
"  conciliate  and  ingratiate  himself  with "  the  mass  of  the 
Church  (see  Lightfoot  on  Gal.  I  i  o).  Above  all  they  in- 
sisted on  the  existence  of  the  two  grades  of  Christians ; 
they  pointed  out  that  Paul  had  himself  delivered  and 
recommended  the  Apostolic  Decree  which  recognised  the 
distinction  of  weaker  and  stronger  Brethren  ;  and  they 
urged  the  Galatians  to  strive  to  attain  to  the  higher,  and 
not  rest  content  with  the  lower  grade,  which  was  a  mere 
concession  to  weakness. 

Such  teaching  found  a  ready  response  in  the  minds  of 
the  Galatian  Christians.  Many  of  them  had  first  heard 
Paul  preaching  in  the  synagogue,  many  had  come  under 
the  influence  of  Judaism  to  some  extent  even  before  Paul 
entered  Galatia  ;  all  were  ready  to  accept  the  belief  that, 
as  the  Jews  were  always  the  first  in  Paul's  own  plans, 
and  as  Christianity  came  from  the  Jews,  therefore  it  was 
right  to  imitate  the  Jews  (p.  144).  It  was  precisely  the 
most  enthusiastic  and  devoted,  who  would  be  eager  to  rise 
to  the  highest  and  most  difficult  stage  of  Christian  life. 

Further,  the  Judaistic  emissaries  urged  that  Paul  was 
merely  the  messenger  and  subordinate  of  the  Twelve,  that 
these  original  Apostles  and  leaders  of  the  Church  must 
be  accepted  as  the  ultimate  guides,  and  that  where  Paul 


184  History  of  the  Churches  of  Galatia.     Chap.  VIII. 

swerved  from  their  teaching  he  was  in  error;  and  they 
claimed  hkewise  to  be  the  messengers  come  direct  from  the 
Twelve  to  communicate  their  latest  views.  Paul  had 
recently  delivered  the  Decree  of  the  older  Apostles  ;  and 
now  later  messengers  supplemented  and  elucidated  the 
Decree. 

3.  LETTER  TO  THE  CHURCHES  OF  GALATIA. 
Paul  saw  that  his  vision  of  the  Church  that  should  unite 
the  civilised  world  was  a  vain  dream,  if  it  were  to  be  bound 
by  the  fetters  of  Judaism ;  and  he  felt,  as  soon  as  he 
heard  of  this  defection,  that  it  must  be  met  at  once.  If 
these  Churches,  his  first  foundations  towards  the  west, 
were  to  pass  under  the  party  of  slavery,  his  work  was  ruined 
at  its  inception  :  the  blow  to  his  policy  and  his  influence 
was  ruinous.  One  of  the  arguments  by  which  the  change 
had  been  produced  was  especially  galling  to  him :  his 
efforts  at  conciliation  were  taken  advantage  of  to  distort 
his  motives,  and  to  represent  him  as  inconsistent  and 
temporising,  and  his  attempts  to  soothe  the  prejudices  of 
the  Judaistic  party  were  treated  as  attempts  at  compromise. 
Hence  he  bursts  forth  at  the  outset  in  a  strain  of  terrific 
vehemence  (which  I  purposely  give  as  far  as  possible  in 
Lightfoot's  language)  :  "  Though  we  (?>.,  Silas  and  F),  or  an 
angel  from  heaven,  should  preach  unto  you  any  gospel 
other  than  that  which  we  preached  unto  you,  let  him  be 
accursed.  As  we  have  told  you  before,  so  now  once  more 
I  say,  if  any  man  preacheth  unto  you  any  gospel  other 
than  that  which  ye  received,  let  him  be  anathema.  What ! 
does  my  boldness  startle  you  ?  Is  this,  I  ask,  the  language 
of  a  time-server  ?  Will  any  one  say  now  that,  careless  of 
winning  the  favour  of  God,  I  seek  to  conciliate  men,  to 
ingratiate  myself  with  men  ?     I  speak  thus  strongly,  for  my 


Sec.  3-     Letter  ^0  t/u  CJmrches  of  Galatia.  185 

language  shall  not  be  misconstrued,  shall  wear  no  semblance 
of  compromise"  {Gal.  I  8- 10).  And  towards  the  end  of  his 
letter  he  returns  to  the  same  point  :  "  What !  do  /,  who 
have  incurred  the  deadly  hatred  of  the  Judaisers,  who  am 
exposed  to  continual  persecution  from  them,  do  /  preach 
circumcision  ?  If  so,  why  do  they  persecute  me  ?  Surely 
what  scandalises  them  in  my  teaching,  the  crucifixion  with 
its  atonement  for  sin,  has  been  done  away  with,  if  I  have, 
as  they  say,  taken  to  their  method,  and  begun  to  preach 
circumcision  "  (V  ii). 

Satisfied  with  the  vehemence  of  the  first  outburst,  and 
the  sarcasm  of  the  second,  Paul  wastes  no  argument 
to  prove  that  he  has  been  consistent  throughout.  He 
knows  that  the  Galatic  Churches  cannot  really  believe  that 
part  of  his  adversaries'  arguments :  they  feel  in  their 
hearts  that  he  has  always  been  true  to  the  first  Gospel  ; 
and  he  proceeds  to  remind  them  of  its  origin  and  its  hold 
on  them,  in  order  to  enforce  the  conclusion  that  they 
must  cling  to  the  first  Gospel,  whoever  it  be  that  preaches 
any  other.  His  argument,  therefore,  is  directed  to  show 
that  he  came  among  them  in  the  beginning  wdth  a 
message  direct  from  God :  "  the  Gospel  which  was 
preached  by  me  is  not  after  man"  (I  11):  "it  came 
to  me  through  revelation  of  Jesus''.  Then  he  proceeds 
to  show,  by  appealing  to  the  facts,  that  he  had  not  had 
the  opportunity  of  learning  an\thing  from  the  recognised 
pillars  of  the  Church.  When  it  pleased  God  to  reveal 
Jesus  in  him,  bitter  enemy  of  the  Church  as  he  was,  he 
"conferred  not  with  flesh  and  blood,"  but  went  away 
for  solitary  meditation  into  Arabia.  He  was  made  by 
God  His  Apostle  to  the  Nations  years  before  he  conferred 
with   any  of  the  Apostles.      Twice  at  a  later  date  did 


1 86  History  of  the  Churches  of  Galatia.    Chap.  VIII. 


he  go  up  to  Jerusalem,  in  one  case  remaining  fifteen 
days  and  seeing  only  Peter  and  James,  in  the  second 
going  up  at  the  Divine  command  to  help  the  poor  at 
Jerusalem  (II  lo) — on  which  occasion,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  no  injunction  was  laid  on  his  Greek  assistant  Titus 
to  accept  the  Judaic  rite — and  receiving  the  recognition 
of  his  Apostleship,  but  no  instruction,  from  the  heads 
of  the  Church  (p.  56  f.). 

Here  in  passing  let  us  ask  the  question,  Did  Paul 
in  this  autobiographical  sketch,  given  in  such  solemn 
yet  vehement  style,  with  the  oath  by  God  that  he  is  not 
deceiving  them — did  Paul,  I  say,  omit  to  mention  that 
he  had  paid  another  visit  to  Jerusalem  between  the 
two  that  he  describes  ?  The  question  seems  almost 
an  insult ;  yet  many  scholars  of  the  highest  order  con- 
sider that  he  here  leaves  out  of  sight  the  visit  described 
by  Luke,  XI  28-30,  and  XII  25.  I  confess  that,  after 
studying  all  that  the  orthodox  scholars  say  on  this  point 
I  find  a  higher  conception  of  Paul's  character  and  truth- 
fulness in  the  position  of  the  critics  who  conclude  that 
Luke  utterly  misconceived  the  sequence  of  events  in 
early  Christian  history  and  interpolated  an  intermediate 
visit  where  no  visit  occurred,  than  in  Bishop  Lightfoot's 
position  that  "of  this  visit  Paul  makes  no  mention  here". 
Paul's  argument  is  founded  on  the  rarity  of  his  visits, 
and  his  aim  is  to  show  that  on  these  visits  he  received 
no  charge  from  the  Twelve.  Reason  and  truth  rebel 
against  the  idea  that  he  left  out  the  middle  visit.  If 
he  passed  over  part  of  the  facts  here,  what  situation 
can  be  imagined  in  which  he  would  feel  obliged  to 
tell  all  the  facts  ?  And  on  that  supposition,  that  Paul 
omitted  a  fact  so  essential  to  his  purpose  and  to  honest 


Sec.  3.     Letter  to  the  Churches  of  Galatia.  187 

autobiography,  the  entire  body  of  orthodox  scholars  have 
built  up  their  theory  of  early  Church  history !  It  cannot 
be !  Luke's  second  visit  must  be  Paul's  second  visit ; 
and  when  we  build  boldly  on  that  plain  foundation,  the 
history  rises  before  us  in  order  and  symmetry. 

But  further,  it  is  obvious  that  Paul  appeals  with  absolute 
confidence  to  this  second  visit  as  proving  his  case :  he 
evidently  conceives  that  he  has  merely  to  recall  the  facts 
to  the  Galatians  in  order  to  make  all  clear.  Now,  there 
is  one  situation  in  which  a  man  is  obviously  not  receiving 
from  others,  and  that  is  when  he  is  actually  giving  to 
them  :  that  was  the  situation  on  the  second  visit  according 
to  Luke,  and  that  explains  Paul's  confidence  in  appealing 
to  his  second  visit. 

Again,  Paul  knew  that  he  had  clever  and  skilful  arguers 
to  contend  against.  How  could  he  expose  himself  to  the 
retort  that  he  was  missing  out  the  intermediate  visit  to 
Jerusalem  ?  How  could  he  feel  confident  that  the  Gala- 
tians, who  had  already  shown  themselves  so  liable  to  be 
deceived  by  specious  arguments,  would  be  able  at  once  to 
reply  to  that  obvious  retort  ? 

Finally,  Paul,  as  an  honest  and  rational  man,  could  not 
appeal  to  the  events  of  the  third  visit  according  to  Luke, 
as  proving  beyond  question  that  he  received  on  that 
occasion  no  charge  from  the  Apostles.  He  did  receive  a 
charge  then,  and  he  delivered  that  charge  to  the  Churches. 

Why,  then,  it  may  be  objected,  does  Paul  not  mention 
his  third  visit  ?  The  answer  is  obvious.  He  is  engaged 
in  proving  that,  when  he  gave  his  first  message  to  the 
Churches  of  Galatia,  he  had  never  received  any  charge 
from  the  older  Apostles.  His  whole  point  is  :  "  Cleave  to 
my  first  message,  which  came  direct  from  God  :   if  Silas 


1 88    History  of  the  Churches  of  Galatia.    Chap.  VIII. 

and  I  afterwards  said  anything  inconsistent  with  that 
message,  we  are  accursed  ".  The  third  visit  to  Jerusalem 
did  not  take  place  until  after  the  Galatian  Churches  were 
sounded,  and  therefore  it  could  find  no  place  in  the 
autobiographical  retrospect  of  I  12-II  10;  but  it  is  clearly- 
implied  in  the  scornful  and  impetuous  sentence,  18: 
"Even  if  Silas  and  I  (as  these  emissaries  have  been  telling 
you),  if  an  angel  from  heav'en,  should  preach  to  you  a 
Gospel  contrary  to  that  which  we  preached  to  you,  a  curse 
be  upon  us  ". 

After  this  autobiographical  sketch,  Paul  refers  to  an 
instance  which  showed  very  strongly  his  independence  in 
face  of  the  leading  Apostle  Peter,  and  then  passes  on  to 
the  third  and  the  main  argument  of  his  adversaries,  founded 
on  the  supposed  grades  in  Christian  life.  His  line  of  reply 
is  to  bring  out  in  various  ways  the  truth  that  the  Judai.-,tic 
form  is  the  lower  stage,  and  the  Gospel  of  freedom  which 
had  been  delivered  to  the  Galatians  the  higher  stage.  The 
Law  alone  was  not  sufficient  for  salvation,  inasmuch  as 
Christ  had  died  to  supplement  its  deficiency;  therefore 
life  according  to  the  Law  could  not  be  the  highest  stage  of 
Christian  life.  How  could  the  Galatians  be  so  foolish  as 
to  think  that,  having  begun  in  the  Spirit,  their  higher 
stage  of  development  would  be  in  the  flesh  (HI  3)?  The 
Christians  who  have  entered  through  the  Spirit  are  the 
children  of  the  free  woman,  but  the  Judaistic  Christians 
are  the  children  of  the  bond  woman  and  lower  in  rank 
(IV  31).  The  latter  may  rise  to  be  free,  but,  if  the  former 
sink  under  bondage  to  the  Law,  they  sacrifice  their 
Christianity.  The  Judaistic  Christians  are  children  under 
care  of  a  pedagogue,  who  have  to  be  raised  by  Christ  to 
the  full  growth  and  freedom  (HI  23-4).     In  a  variety  of 


Sec.  3.      Letter  to  the  Churches  of  Galatia.  189 

other  striking  and  impressive  figures  the  superiority  of 
the  free  to  the  Judaistic  Christians  is  illustrated.  It 
cannot  be  said  that  there  is  any  reasoning  or  argument : 
illustrations  are  used  to  bring  the  Galatians  to  a  clear 
consciousness  of  what  they  have  in  their  own  minds. 
Argument  is  too  external  a  process ;  Paul  merely  points 
out  to  the  Galatians  that  "they  already  know  ". 

As  a  whole,  the  letter  is  an  eloquent  and  powerful  claim 
for  freedom  of  life,  freedom  of  thought,  freedom  of  the 
individual  from  external  restrictions  and  regulations, 
freedom  for  all  to  work  out  their  own  salvation  and  develop 
their  own  nature:  "Ye  were  called  for  freedom"  (V  13). 
And  towards  the  conclusion  this  turns  to  a  glorification  of 
love.  Their  freedom  is  freedom  to  do  right,  not  freedom 
to  do  everything  ;  "  the  whole  Law  is  fulfilled  in  one  word, 
even  in  this  :  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neii^hbour  as  thyself" 
(V  14).  Selfishness,  i.e.^  "  the  flesh,"  is  the  absolute  anti- 
thesis of  love,  i.e.,  "  the  Spirit "  ;  and  the  receiving  of  Christ 
is  "  crucifying  the  flesh  with  the  passions  thereof"  (V  24). 
The  essence  of  the  true  life  lies  neither  in  observing  the 
Law  nor  in  being  above  the  Law,  but  in  building  anew 
one's  nature  (VI  15). 

4.  THE  DATE  OF  THE  GALATIAN  E  PI  S  T  LE,  though 
out  of  chronological  order,  may  be  considered  here.  The 
defection  of  the  Galatians  occurred  shortly  after  Paul's 
second  visit  (not  shortly  after  his  first  visit,  as  Lightfoot 
strangely  takes  it,  I,  6,  p.  42).  He  spent  the  summer  of  50 
among  them  ;  and  the  Judaic  emissaries  may  have  come  in 
the  summer  of  51  or  52.  But,  amid  the  sudden  changes  of 
plan  on  his  journey,  Paul  could  not  receive  many  letters 
from  Galatia.  Moreover,  his  epistle  seems  to  imply  the 
possession  of  full  knowledge,  such  as  could  not  be  gained 


190  History  of  the  Churches  of  Galatia.     Chap.  VIII. 

from  a  mere  letter :  if  the  Galatians  wrote  to  him,  it  is 
most  improbable  that  they  explained  their  changed  atti- 
tude and  all  the  reasons  for  it.  No !  Paul's  information 
comes  from  the  personal  report  of  a  trusty  messenger  ; 
and  the  obvious  suitability  of  Timothy  for  the  duty  occurs 
at  once  to  one's  mind.  Further,  it  is  clear  that  Timothy 
was  with  Paul  during  a  considerable  part  of  the  stay  in 
Corinth,  for  he  joined  in  the  greeting  at  the  opening  of 
both  letters  to  Thessalonica.  It  is  therefore  hardly  possible 
that  he  could  have  gone  home,  visited  his  friends,  satisfied 
himself  as  to  the  condition  of  the  Churches,  and  returned 
to  Corinth  before  Paul  left  that  city.  Moreover,  if  Paul 
heard  at  that  time,  it  is  not  probable  that  he  would  have 
spent  so  much  time  on  a  voyage  to  Jerusalem  and  a  visit 
to  Syrian  Antioch  before  visiting  personally  the  wavering 
Churches. 

We  conclude,  then,  that  Timothy  went  to  pay  a  visit  to 
his  friends,  not  before  the  latter  part  of  Paul's  stay  in 
Corinth  ;  and,  when  he  found  out  the  real  state  of  affairs 
in  South  Galatia,  he  went  to  meet  Paul  with  the  news. 
Owing  to  Paul's  movements,  there  are  only  two  places 
where  Timothy  could  have  met  him, — Ephesus  and  Syrian 
Antioch.  The  former  is  most  unlikely,  for,  if  Timothy 
left  Corinth  some  months  before  Paul,  he  could  have  no 
assurance  of  meeting  him  there,  where  he  merely  called  in 
passing.  It  is  probable,  then,  that  he  brought  his  report 
to  Paul  at  Syrian  Antioch  after  the  fourth  visit  to  Jeru- 
salem (p.  265).  With  the  entire  want  of  definite  evidence, 
we  cannot  get  beyond  this  estimate  of  probabilities ;  and 
it  is  most  likely  that  Timothy  stayed  with  Paul  during 
the  whole  of  his  residence  at  Corinth,  sailed  with  him  as 
far  as  Ephesus,  and  landed  there  in  order  to  go  home  on 


Sec.  4.        The  Date  of  the  Galatian  Epistle.  191 

a  visit  to  his  friends,  while  Paul  went  on  to  Jerusalem. 
We  shall  at  a  later  stage  find  that  Paul  often  sent  deputies 
to  inspect  his  Churches  ;  and  their  reports  often  drew  forth 
an  Epistle  to  correct  an  erring  Church  (pp.  275,  284). 

In  this  way,  when  Paul  reached  Syrian  Antioch,  or 
immediately  after  he  reached  it,  at  the  end  of  his  visit  to 
Caesareia  and  Jerusalem,  he  found  Timothy  waiting  with 
the  disheartening  news,  in  the  summer  of  53 :  and  at 
once  he  sat  down  and  wrote  the  letter  which  has  been 
preserved  to  us. 

One  question  remains.  Why  was  Paul  content  with 
writing?  Why  did  he  not  start  at  once  himself ?  Personal 
intervention  is  always  more  effective  in  such  cases.  But, 
in  the  first  place,  a  letter  would  certainly  travel  faster  than 
Paul  could  get  over  the  ground  ;  and  he  would  not  lose  a 
moment  in  letting  the  Galatians  hear  what  he  thought. 
In  the  second  place,  he  could  hardly  sacrifice  the  oppor- 
tunity of  reviewing  the  Churches  in  Syria  and  Cilicia  that 
lay  on  his  way :  everywhere  he  would  be  besieged  with 
entreaties  to  stay  for  a  little,  and  he  could  not  well  hurry 
past  them  without  at  least  a  brief  stay  of  one  or  two  days 
in  each.  Finally  there  are  frequently  reasons  which  make 
it  impossible  to  hurry  away  on  a  serious  journey  like  that 
from  Syria  to  South  Galatia.     Paul  was  only  human. 

When  Paul  wrote  the  letter  he  must,  on  our  view,  have 
been  intending  to  arrive  very  soon  after  his  letter.  It  may 
be  asked  why  he  makes  no  reference  to  this  intention. 
But  we  should  rather  ask,  if,  according  to  the  ordinary 
view,  he  were  not  coming  immediately,  why  he  did  not 
make  some  explanatory  statement  of  the  reasons  that 
compelled  him  at  such  a  crisis  to  be  content  with  a  letter 
and  to  do  without  a  visit  (p.  275  f.).     The  messenger  who 


192    History  of  the  Churches  of  Galatia.   Chap.  VIII. 

carried  the  letter  carried  also  the  news  that  Paul  was 
following  close  after,  as  fast  as  his  necessary  detentions  at 
Antioch  and  other  cities  on  the  way  permitted  ;  and  part 
of  the  effect  of  the  letter  lay  in  the  fact  that  the  writer  was 
going  to  be  present  in  person  very  soon. 

The  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  therefore,  belongs  to  A.D. 
53,  and  was  written  just  when  he  was  starting  on  his 
third  journey,  but  before  he  had  begun  that  scheme  of  a 
general  contribution  among  all  his  new  Churches  which 
is  so  prominent  in  the  three  following  letters,  I,  II  Cor. 
and  Rom. 

To  this  date  one  objection  may  perhaps  be  urged  :  in 
IV  10,  Paul  asks,  "  Are  ye  observing  days  and  months  and 
seasons  and  years  ?  "  It  has  been  urged  that  this  implies 
that  the  Sabbatical  year  54-55  was  observed  by  the  Gala- 
tians when  the  letter  was  written.  But  Lightfoot  has 
rightly  rejected  this  argument :  Paul  asks  in  sarcasm : 
"  Are  ye  observing  the  whole  series  of  institutions  ?  are  ye 
taking  up  anew  a  ritual  like  that  of  paganism  from  which 
you  were  set  free  ?  " 

5.  THE  LATER  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCHES  OF 
GALATIA  is  obscure.  They  took  part  in  the  contribu- 
tion raised  by  the  Pauline  Churches  for  the  poor  brethren 
at  Jerusalem  (p.  286  f),  and  were  represented  in  the 
delegation  that  carried  it  to  Jerusalem.  Thereafter  history 
ends,  and  tradition  alone  preserves  some  scraps  of  infor- 
mation about  Antioch,  Iconium  and  Lystra.  Derbe  alone 
is  not  mentioned  either  in  the  tradition  (so  far  as  my 
knowledge  extends)  or  in  the  history  of  the  Church  until 
we  come  down  to  A.D.  381,  when  its  bishop  Daphnus  was 
present  at  the  Council  of  Constantinople.  The  only  hope 
of  further   information  about   the   four   Churches    lies   in 


Sec.  5-  Later  History  of  the  Churches  of  Galatia.    193 

archaeology ;  but  unless  the  spade  can  be  brought  to 
supplement  the  too  scanty  records  that  remain  above 
ground,  little  can  be  hoped  for.^ 

^The  Christian  antiquities  of  Antioch  and  Iconium  will  be  dis- 
cussed at  some  length  in  my  Cities  and  Bishoprics  of  Phrygia.  If 
my  dream  of  excavating  the  deserted  sites  of  Derbe  and  Lystra  be 
ever  realised,  they  would  form  the  subject  of  a  special  treatise. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

THE   COMING  OF  LUKE  AND  THE   CALL  INTO  MACEDONIA. 

I.  ACROSS  ASIA.  (XVI  6)  AND  THEY,  HAVING  MADE 
A  PROGRESS  THROUGH  THE  PHRYGIAN  REGION  OF  the 
province  GALATIA,  AND  HAVING  BEEN  PREVENTED 
BY  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT  FROM  SPEAKING  THE  WORD 
IN  tJie  province  ASIA,  (7)  AND  HAVING  REACHED  A 
POINT  OVER  AGAINST  MYSIA  {or,  perhaps,  on  the  skirts 
of   Mysia),    WERE     ATTEMPTING    TO    MAKE    THEIR    WAY 

INTO    the   province    bithynia;    AND    THE    spirit    of 

JESUS  SUFFERED  THEM  NOT;  (8)  AND,  NEGLECTING 
MYSIA,  THEY  CAME  DOWN  TO  the  harboiir  TROAS. 
(9)  AND  A  VISION  APPEARED  TO  PAUL  BY  NIGHT: 
THERE  WAS  A  CERTAIN  MAN,  A  MACEDONIAN,  STAND- 
ING, AND  EXHORTING  HIM  AND  SAYING,  "  COME  OVER 
TO  MACEDONIA,  AND  HELP  US ".  (lO)  AND  WHEN  HE 
SAW  THE  VISION,  IMMEDIATELY  WE  SOUGHT  TO  GO 
OUT  from  Asia  INTO  the  province  MACEDONIA,  AS- 
SUREDLY GATHERING  THAT  "  GOD  HAS  SUMMONED  US 
TO   BRING   THE   GOOD   NEWS   TO   THEM", 

Paul  and  his  companions  made  a  missionary  pro- 
gress through  the  Phrygian  Region  of  the  province 
Galatia  (p.  104),  and  then  crossed  the  frontier  of  the 
province  Asia :  but  here  they  were  prevented  from 
preaching,   and    the    prohibition   was   made   absolute   for 

(194) 


Sec.  I.  Across  Asia,  195 

the  entire  province.  They  therefore  kept  to  the  north 
across  Asian  Phrygia  with  the  intention  of  entering  the 
adjoining  Roman  province  Bithynia ;  but  when  they  came 
opposite  Mysia,  and  were  attempting  to  go  out  of  Asia 
into  Bithynia,  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  suffered  them  not. 
They  therefore  kept  on  towards  the  west  through 
Mysia,  without  preaching  in  it  (as  it  was  part  of  Asia), 
•until  they  came  out  on  its  western  coast  at  the  great 
harbour  of  Alexandria  Troas. 

The  expression  marks  clearly  the  distinction  between 
the  prohibition  to  preach  in  Asia,  while  they  were  actu- 
ally in  it,  and  the  prohibition  even  to  set  foot  in 
Bithynia.  It  was  necessary  for  them  to  cross  Asia  in 
order  to  fulfil  the  purpose  for  which  they  were  about  to 
be  called. 

The  geographical  facts  of  this  paragraph  are  stated 
with  great  clearness  in  the  text  followed  by  the  Author- 
ised Version  and  the  older  editions ;  but  the  reading 
which  they  give  is  founded  on  Manuscripts  of  an  inferior 
class,  while  the  great  MSS.  have  a  different  text, '  charac- 
terised by  the  strange  sequence  of  three  participial 
clauses,  a  sequence  almost  unique  in  Luke's  writings, 
and  therefore  suspected  and  altered.  But  the  strange 
form  of  construction  by  a  succession  of  participles  suits 
so  perfectly  the  strange  and  unique  character,  the  hurry, 
and  the  deep-lying  emotion  of  the  passage  (see  §  2) 
that,  as  Lightfoot's  judgment,  Bibl.  Essays,  p.  235,  per- 
ceived, the  inferior  MSS.  must  here  be  followed.  The 
text  of  the  great  MSS.,  though  it  does  not  quite  conceal 
the  feeling  of  the  passage,  yet  obscures  it  a  little,  and,  by 
approximating  more  to  Luke's  ordinary  form  of  sentence, 
loses  that  perfect  adaptation  of  form  to  sense,  which  so 


196  The  Coming  of  Luke.  Chap.  IX. 

often  strikes  us  in  this  history.  We  have  already  noticed, 
p.  115,  that  Luke  loves  the  triple  iteration  of  successive 
words  or  clauses  to  produce  a  certain  effect  in  arresting 
attention. 

The  reading  of  the  inferior  MSS.  suits  the  South- 
Galatian  theory  admirably  ;  but  that  fact  never  weighed 
with  me  for  a  moment  in  the  choice.  As  long  as 
the  question  between  the  two  theories  was  alone 
concerned,  the  thought  of  following  the  inferior  MSS. 
did  not  even  present  itself:  I  followed  the  great  MSS. 
and  interpreted  them  in  the  best  way  possible,  neither 
looking  aside  nor  feeling  the  slightest  wish  to  adopt 
the  rival  text.  But  when  the  question  of  literary 
feeling  came  up,  after  the  delicate  adaptation  of  expres- 
sion to  emotion  throughout  Acts  gradually  revealed  itself, 
it  became  clear  that  here  the  choice  lay  between  a  cast 
of  sentence  unusual  in  this  author,  and  one  that  was 
quite  in  his  ordinary  style,  in  a  place  where  the  feeling 
and  the  facts  were  strange  and  unique :  hesitation  was 
then  impossible :  the  unusual  emotion  demanded  the 
unusual  expression.     See  note,  p.  211   f. 

In  this  passage  the  distinction  observed  by  Luke  be- 
tween Roman  provincial  designations  and  the  older 
national  names  is  specially  clear.  Wherever  he  mentions 
districts  of  mission  work,  he  classifies  according  to  the 
existing  political  (Roman)  divisions  (as  here,  the  Phrygo- 
Galatic  Region,  Asia,  Bithynia,  Macedonia) ;  but  where 
he  is  simply  giving  geographical  information,  he  either 
uses  the  pre-Roman  names  of  lands  {e.g.,  Mysia),  or  omits 
the  land  from  his  narrative. 

The  "  neglecting  "  of  Mysia  is  a  remarkable  expression, 
one  of  those  by  which  Luke  compels  attention  at  a  critical 


bKC.   I. 


Across  Asia.  i97 


point.  As  a  rule  he  simpl}^  omits  a  country  where  no 
preaching  occurred  (p.  go  f.) ;  but  here  he  accumulates 
devices  to  arrest  the  reader.  His  effects  are  always  at- 
tained, not  by  rhetorical  devices,  but  by  order  and  mar- 
shalling of  facts  ;  and  here,  in  a  missionary  tour,  the 
"neglecting"  of  a  great  country  is  a  fact  that  no  one 
can  pass  over.  Not  catching  the  intention,  many  under- 
stand "  passing  without  entering "  (nrapeXeSvTe^)  :  Dr. 
Blass  rightly  sees  that  a  traveller  cannot  reach  Troas 
without  crossing  Mysia  ;  but  he  goes  on  to  alter  the  text, 
following  the  Bezan  reading  {hie\66vTe<; ;  see  p.  235). 

The    journey    across   Mysia    led    naturally  down    the 

course    of    the    river    Rhyndacos,    and    past    the    south 

shore   of    the    great   lakes.     A    tradition    that    Paul   had 

travelled  by  the  sacred  town  of  the  goddess  Artemis  at 

the    hot    springs    of    the    river   Aisepos    can    be    traced 

as  early   as   the  second    century,    accompanied   with   the 

legend  that  he  had  founded  a  chapel  in  the  neighbourhood. 

If  he  went  down  the  Rhyndacos,  it  is  practically  certain 

that  he  must  have  passed  close  to,  or  through,  Artemaia 

on  his  way  to  the  great  harbour.     Under   the  influence 

of  this   tradition,   the  Bezan    Reviser   changed   the    text 

of  V.    8,   reading   "making   a  progress   through  Mysia". 

But    evangelisation    on    the    journey    across    Mysia    was 

forbidden,  v.  6.     The   tradition,  however,  is   interesting; 

and  there   is   further   trace  of  very  early  foundations  in 

this  quarter,  which  will  be  treated  elsewhere. 

The  rapid  sweep  of  narrative,  hurrying  on  from 
country  to  country,  is  the  marked  feature  of  this  para- 
graph ;  yet  it  merely  places  before  us  the  facts,  as  Paul's 
missionary  aims  found  no  opening,  and  he  was  driven  on 
and  on.     But,  on  the  current  North-Galatian  theory,  this 


198  The   Coming  of  Luke.  Chap.  IX, 

effect,  which  is  obviously  intended,  is  got,  not  by  simply 
stating  facts,  but  by  slurring  over  one  of  Paul's  greatest 
enterprises,  the  evangelisation  of  North  Galatia  and  the 
founding  of  several  Churches  in  a  new  mission  district. 
l)Ut  the  first  words  of  v.  6  describe  a  progress  marked  by 
no  great  events,  a  steady  continuance  of  a  process  fully 
described  in  the  context  (p.  72). 

2.  THE  CALL  INTO  MACEDONIA.  This  is  in 
many  respects  the  most  remarkable  paragraph  in  Acts^ 
In  the  first  place  the  Divine  action  is  introduced  three 
times  in  four  verses,  marking  and  justifying  the  new 
and  great  step  which  is  made  at  this  point.  In  XIII 
i-ii  also  the  Divine  action  is  mentioned  three  times^ 
leading  up  to  the  important  development  which  the 
author  defines  as  "  opening  the  door  of  belief  to  the 
Nations"  ;  but  in  that  case  there  were  only  two  actual 
manifestations  of  the  Divine  guidance  and  power.  Here 
on  three  distinct  occasions  the  guidance  of  God  was 
manifested  in  three  different  ways — the  Holy  Spirit,  the 
Spirit  of  Jesus,  and  the  Vision — and  the  three  manifesta- 
tions all  lead  up  to  one  end,  first  forbidding  Paul's 
purpose  of  preaching  in  Asia,  then  forbidding  his  purpose 
of  entering  Bithynia,  and  finally  calling  him  forward 
into  Macedonia.  Now,  amid  "  the  multitude  of  the 
revelations"  (II  Cor.  XII  7)  granted  to  Paul,  Luke 
selects  only  those  which  have  a  distinct  bearing  on  his 
own  purpose  as  an  historian,  and  omits  the  vast  majority, 
which  were  all  important  in  their  influence  on  Paul's 
conduct  and  character.  What  is  the  reason  for  his 
insistence  in  this  case  ? 

It  is  not  easy  to  account  on  strictly  historical  grounds 
for    the    emphasis    laid    on    the   passage   to    Macedonia. 


Sec.  2.  The  Call  into  Macedonia.  199 

Lightfoot,  in  his  fine  essay  on  "  the  Churches  of  Macedonia," 
recognises  with  his  usual  insight  that  it  is  necessary  to 
acknowledge  and  to  explain  that  emphasis  ;  but  his 
attempt  cannot  be  called  successful.  As  he  himself 
acknowledges,  the  narrative  gives  no  ground  to  think 
that  the  passage  from  Troas  to  Philippi  was  ever  thought 
of  by  Luke  as  a  passage  from  Continent  to  Continent. 
A  broad  distinction  between  the  two  opposite  sides  of 
the  Hellespont  as  belonging  to  two  different  Continents, 
had  no  existence  in  the  thought  of  those  who  lived  in 
the  ^gean  lands,  and  regarded  the  sea  as  the  path 
connecting  the  ^gean  countries  with  each  other  ;  and 
the  distinction  had  no  more  existence  in  a  political 
point  of  view,  for  Macedonia  and  Asia  were  merely 
two  provinces  of  the  Roman  Empire,  closely  united 
by  common  language  and  character,  and  divided  from 
the  Latin-speaking  provinces  further  west. 

After  an  inaccurate  statement  that  Macedonia  was- 
"  the  natural  highroad  between  the  East  and  the  West " 
(the  yEgean  was  the  real  highroad,  and  Corinth  was 
"on  the  way  of  them  that  are  being  slain  to  God," 
Church  in  R.  E.,  p.  318  f.),  Lightfoot  finds  in  Alexander 
the  Great  the  proof  of  the  greatness  of  the  step  which 
Luke  here  records  in  Paul's  work,  and  even  says  that 
*'  each  successive  station  at  which  he  halted  might  have 
reminded  the  Apostle  of  the  great  services  rendered  by 
Macedonia  as  the  pioneer  of  the  Gospel  !  "  That  is  mere 
riot  of  pseudo-historical  fancy  ;  and  it  is  hardly  possible 
to  believe  that  Lightfoot  ever  composed  it  in  the  form 
and  with  the  suggestion  that  it  has  in  this  essay.  This 
is  one  of  not  a  few  places  in  his  Biblical  Essays  in 
which  the  expansion  of  his  own   "  briefest  summary "  by 


200  The  Coming  of  Luke.  Chap.  IX 


the  aid  of  notes  of  his  oral  lectures  taken  by  pupils  has 
not  been  thoroughly  successful.  The  pages  of  the  essay 
amount  to  a  practical  demonstration  that,  on  mere 
grounds  of  historical  geography  alone,  one  cannot 
explain  the  marked  emphasis  laid  on  this  new  departure. 

In  the  second  place,  the  sweep  and  rush  of  the 
narrative  is  unique  in  Acts :  point  after  point,  province 
after  province  are  hurried  over.  The  natural  develop- 
ment of  Paul's  work  along  the  great  central  route  of 
the  Empire  was  forbidden,  and  the  next  alternative  that 
rose  in  his  mind  was  forbidden  :  he  was  led  across  Asia 
from  the  extreme  south-east  to  the  extreme  north-west 
corner,  and  yet  prevented  from  preaching  in  it  ;  every- 
thing seemed  dark  and  perplexing,  until  at  last  a  vision 
in  Troas  explained  the  purpose  of  this  strange  journey. 
As  before  (p.  104),  we  cannot  but  be  struck  with  the 
fact,  that  in  this  paragraph  the  idea  seems  to  clothe  itself 
in  the  natural  words,  and  not  to  have  been  laboriously 
expressed  by  a  foreign  mind.  And  the  origin  of  the 
words  becomes  clear  when  we  look  at  the  concluding 
sentence :  "  immediately  we  sought  to  go  forth  into 
Macedonia,  assuredly  gathering  that  '  God  has  called  us 
for  to  preach  the  Gospel  unto  them ' ".  The  author  was 
with  Paul  in  Troas  ;  and  the  intensity  of  this  paragraph 
is  due  to  his  recollection  of  the  words  in  which  Paul 
had  recounted  the  vision,  and  explained  the  whole 
Divine  plan  that  had  guided  him  through  his  perplexing 
wanderings.  The  words  derive  their  vivid  and  striking 
character  from  Paul,  and  they  remained  indelibly 
imprinted  on  Luke's  memory. 

3.  THE  COMING  OF  LUKE.  The  introduction  of 
the  first  person  at   this    striking    point   in    the   narrative 


Sec.  3.  The  Coining  of  Luke.  201 


must  be  intentional.      This    is  no  general  statement    like 
XIV  22  (though  even  there  the  first  person  has  a  marked 
effect,    p.     123).      Every  one   recognises   here   a   distinct 
assertion    that   the  author  was  present.       Now   the  para- 
graph as  a  whole  is  carefully   studied,   and  the    sudden 
change  from  third  to  first  person  is  a  telling  element  in 
the   total  effect  :    if  there  is  any  passage  in   Acts  which 
can  be  pressed  close,  it  is  this.     It  is  almost  universally 
recognised  that  the  use  of  the  first  person  in  the  sequel 
is    intentional,    marking    that    the    author    remained    in 
Philippi  when   Paul  went  on,    and    that   he   rejoined  the 
Apostle  some  years  later  on  his  return  to  Philippi.     We 
must  add  that  the  precise  point  at  which  the  first-personal 
form    of    narrative    begins    is    also    intentional  ;    for,    if 
Luke  changes  here  at  random  from  third  to  first  person, 
it  would  be  absurd  to  look   for  purpose   in    anything   he 
says.     The  first  person,  when    used    in    the    narrative   of 
XVI,  XX,    XXI,    XXVII,    XXVIII,    marks    the    com- 
panionship of  Luke  and   Paul  ;    and,  when  we  carry  out 
this  principle  of  interpretation  consistently  and  minutely, 
it  will  prove  an  instructive   guide.      This    is   the   nearest 
approach  to  personal  reference  that  Lulce  permits  himself; 
and  he  makes  it  subservient  to  his  historical  purpose  by 
using  it  as  a  criterion  of  personal  witness. 

Luke,  therefore,  entered  into  the  drama  of  the  Acts 
at  Troas.  Now  it  is  clear  that  the  coming  of  Paul  to 
Troas  was  unforeseen  and  unforeseeable  ;  the  whole  point 
of  the  paragraph  is  that  Paul  was  driven  on  against 
his  own  judgment  and  intention  to  that  city.  The  meet- 
ing, therefore,  was  not,  as  has  sometimes  been  main- 
tained, pre-arranged.  Luke  entered  on  the  stage  of  this 
history  at  a   point,  where  Paul  found   himself  he  knew 


202  The   Coming  of  Luke.  Chap.  IX. 

not  why.  On  the  ordinary  principles  of  interpreting 
Hterature,  we  must  infer  that  this  meeting,  which  is  so 
skilfully  and  so  pointedly  represented  as  unforeseen, 
was  between  two  strangers  :  Luke  became  known  to 
Paul  here  for  the  first  time.  Let  us,  then,  scrutinise 
more  closely  the  circumstances.  The  narrative  pointedly 
brings  together  the  dream  and  the  introduction  of  the 
first-personal  element,  "  when  he  saw  the  vision,  straight- 
way we  sought  to  go  "  ;  and  collocation  is  everywhere 
one  of  the  most  telling  points  in  Luke's  style. 

When  we  examine  the  dream,  we  observe  that  in  it 
"  a  certain  man  of  Macedonia  "  was  seen  by  Paul,  Paul 
did  not  infer  his  Macedonian  origin  from  his  words, 
but  recognised  him  as  a  Macedonian  by  sight.  Now, 
there  was  nothing  distinctive  in  the  appearance  or  dress 
of  a  Macedonian  to  mark  him  out  from  the  rest  of  the 
world.  On  the  contrary,  the  Macedonians  rather  made 
a  point  of  their  claim  to  be  Greeks  ;  and  undoubtedly 
they  dressed  in  the  customary  Greek  style  of  the  ^gean 
cities.  There  was,  therefore,  only  one  way  in  which  Paul 
could  know  the  man  by  sight  to  be  a  Macedonian — 
the  man  in  the  dream  was  personally  known  to  him  ; 
and,  in  fact,  the  Greek  implies  that  it  was  a  certain 
definite  person  who  apjDcared  {avrip  ri<;,  Latin  qnidaniy 
very  often  followed  by  the  person's  name  ;  V  i,  VIII 
9,  IX  10,  33,  36,  X  I,  etc.). 

In  the  vision,  then,  a  certain  Macedonian,  who  was 
personally  known  to  Paul,  appeared,  and  called  him  over 
into  Macedonia.  Now,  it  has  been  generally  recognised 
that  Luke  must  have  had  some  connection  with  Philippi  ; 
and  we  shall  find  reason  to  think  that  he  had  personal 
knowledge   of  the   city.     Further,    Paul,   whose   life    had 


Sfx.  3.  The  Coining  of  Luke.  203 

been  spent  in  the  eastern  countries,  and  who  had  come 
so  far  west  only  a  few  days  past,  was  not  hkely  to  be 
personally  acquainted  with  natives  of  Macedonia.  The 
idea  then  suggests  itself  at  once,  that  Luke  himself  was  the 
man  seen  in  the  vision  ;  and,  when  one  reads  the  paragraph 
with  that  idea,  it  acquires  new  meaning  and  increased 
beauty.  As  always,  Luke  seeks  no  effect  from  artifices 
of  style.  He  tells  nothing  but  the  bare  facts  in  their 
simplest  form  ;  and  leaves  the  reader  to  catch  the  causal 
connection  between  them.  But  we  can  imagine  how 
Paul  came  to  Troas  in  doubt  as  to  what  should  be 
done.  As  a  harbour,  it  formed  the  link  between  Asia 
and  Macedonia.  Here  he  met  the  Macedonian  Luke  ; 
and  with  his  view  turned  onwards  he  slept,  and  beheld 
in  a  vision  his  Macedonian  acquaintance  beckoning  him 
onward  to  his  own  country. 

Beyond  this  we  cannot  penetrate  through  the  veil  in 
which  Luke  has  enveloped  himself.  Was  he  already  a 
Christian,  or  did  he  come  under  the  influence  of 
Christianity  through  meeting  Paul  here  ?  for  the  prohi- 
bition against  preaching  in  Asia  would  not  preclude 
Paul  from  using  the  opportunity  to  convert  an  individual 
who  was  brought  in  contact  with  him.  No  evidence 
remains  ;  "  something  sealed  the  lips  of  that  evangelist," 
so  far  as  he  himself  is  concerned.  But  we  have 
gathered  from  the  drift  of  the  passage  that  they  met  as 
strangers  ;  and  in  that  case  there  can  be  no  doubt  where 
the  probability  lies.  The  inference  that  they  met 
accidentally  as  strangers  is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that 
Luke  was  a  stranger  to  the  Levant  (p.  317).  In  one 
of  the  many  ways  in  which  men  come  across  one 
another  in  travelling,   they  were  brought  into  contact  a'. 


204  The  Coming  of  Luke.  Chap.  IX. 


Troas  :  Luke  was  attracted  to  Paul  ;  and  the  vision  was 
taken  by  Luke,  as  well  as  by  Paul,  for  a  sign.  He  left 
all,  and  followed  his  master. 

All  this  he  suggests  to  us  only  by  the  same  kind  of 
delicate  and  subtle  literary  devices,  consisting  merely  in 
collocation  of  facts,  order  of  words,  and  slight  changes 
of  form,  by  which  he  suggested  the  development  of 
Paul's  method  and  the  change  in  his  relation  to  Bar- 
nabas (p.  82  f ).  Luke  always  expects  a  great  deal  from 
his  readers,  but  some  critics  give  too  little  attention  to 
literary  effect.  These  will  ask  me  for  proofs  ;  but 
proofs  there  are  none.  I  can  only  point  to  the  facts : 
they  that  have  eyes  to  see  them  know;  they  that  have 
not  eyes  to  see  them  will  treat  this  section  (and  others) 
as  moonstruck  fancy.  All  that  can  be  said  is  that,  if 
you  read  the  book  carefully,  observing  these  devices, 
you  recognise  a  great  work  ;  if  you  don't,  and  follow 
your  denial  to  its  logical  consequences,  you  will  find 
only  an  assortment  of  scraps.  Probably  there  will 
always  be  thf)se  who  prefer  the  scraps. 

It  is  quite  in  Luke's  style  to  omit  to  mention  that 
Paul  related  the  vision  to  his  companions.  So  also  he 
omitted  in  XIII  7,  8,  to  mention  that  Paul  expounded 
the  doctrine  to  the  proconsul.  Luke  always  expects  a 
great  deal  from  his  readers.  But  here  the  Bezan  Reviser 
inserts  the  missing  detail,  as  he  so  often  does  ie.g..^ 
XIII  9). 

While  there  is  no  authority  for  the  circumstances  of  the 
meeting,  conjecture  is  tempting  and  perhaps  permissible. 
It  will  appear  that  Luke,  though  evidently  acquainted 
with  Philippi  and  looking  to  it  as  his  city,  had  no  home 
there.     His  meeting   with  Paul,  then,  did  not  take  place 


Sec.  3.  The  Coming  of  Luke.  205 

merely  on  an  excursion  from  Philippi ;  and  he  was 
probably  one  of  the  many  Greeks  in  all  ages  who  have 
sought  their  fortune  away  from  home.  His  acquaintance 
with  medicine  is  certain  from  the  words  of  Paul  himself, 
"Luke,  the  beloved  physician"  {CoL  IV  14),  and  from 
the  cast  of  his  language  in  many  places  ;  ^  and  it  is  quite 
natural  and  probable  that  the  meeting  might  have  been 
sought  by  Paul  on  that  account,  if  Luke  was  resident 
in  Troas  and  wellknown  there. 

4.  THE  ENTRANCE  INTO  MACEDONIA.  (XVI 
11)  WE  SET  SAIL  THEN  FROM  TROAS,  AND  MADE  A 
STRAIGHT  RUN  TO  SAMOTHRACE  ;  AND  THE  DAY  FOL- 
LOWING we  came  TO  the  harbour  NEAPOLIS,  (12)  AND 
THENCE  TO  PHILIPPI,  WHICH  IS  THE  LEADING  CITY  OF 
ITS  DIVISION  OF  MACEDONIA,  AND  having  the  rank  of 
A  ROMAN  COLONY  :  AND  WE  WERE  IN  THIS  CITY 
TARRYING   CERTAIN    DAYS. 

It  is  remarkable  with  what  interest  Luke  records  the 
incidents  from  harbour  to  harbour.  He  has  the  true 
Greek  feeling  for  the  sea,  a  feeling  that  must  develop 
in  every  race  possessing  any  capacity  for  development, 
and  any  sensitiveness  to  the  influences  of  nature,  when 
settled  round  the  ^Egean  coasts  ;  for  the  .^gean  sea  is 
so  tempting,  with  its  regular  winds  and  regular  sunset 
calm,  when  the  water  lies  dead,  with  a  surface  which  looks 
like  oil,  dense  and  glistening  and  dark,  that  it  seems  to 
invite  one  to  walk  upon  it. 

To  a  certain  extent  the  wealth  of  maritime  details 
might  be  accounted  for  by  the  loving  interest  with  which 
Luke  dwelt  on  his  journeys  in  company  with   Paul ;  but 

^  Hobart,  The.  Medical  Language  of  St.  Luke,  a  work  which  has  to 
be  used  with  the  caution  that  the  author  recognises  as  needful 


2o6  The  Coming  of  Ltike.  Chap.  IX. 

this  does  not  fully  explain  the  facts.  Every  one  who 
compares  Luke's  account  of  the  journey  from  Caesareia 
to  Jerusalem  (which  might  be  expected  to  live  in  his 
memory  beyond  others),  or  from  Puteoli  to  Rome,  with 
his  account  of  any  of  the  voyages,  must  be  struck  by 
the  difference  between  the  scanty  matter-of-fact  details 
in  the  land  journeys,  and  the  love  that  notes  the 
voyage,  the  winds,  the  runs,  the  appearance  of  the  shores, 
Cyprus  rising  out  of  the  sea,  the  Cretan  coast  close  in  by 
the  ship's  side,  the  mountains  towering  above  it  from 
which  the  blast  strikes  down.  At  the  same  time,  it  is 
quite  clear  that,  though  he  reported  nautical  matters  with 
accuracy,  he  was  not  a  trained  and  practised  sailor. 
His  interest  for  the  sea  sprang  from  his  natural  and 
national  character,  and  not  from  his  occupation. 

Philippi  was  an  inland  city,  and  Neapolis  was  its 
harbour.  Having  once  mentioned  the  port,  Luke  leaves 
it  to  be  understood  in  XX  6.  As  usual,  Paul  goes  on 
to  the  great  city,  and  does  not  preach  in  the  port 
(cp.  XIV  26,  XVHI   18). 

The  description  of  the  dignity  and  rank  of  Philippi 
is  unique  in  Acts ;  nor  can  it  be  explained  as  strictly 
requisite  for  the  historian's  proper  purpose.  Here  again 
the  explanation  lies  in  the  character  of  the  author,  who 
was  specially  interested  in  Philippi,  and  had  the  true 
Greek  pride  in  his  own  city.  Perhaps  he  even  exag- 
gerates a  little  the  dignity  of  Philippi,  which  was  still 
only  in  process  of  growth,  to  become  at  a  later  date  the 
great  city  of  its  division.  Of  old  Amphipolis  had  been 
the  chief  city  of  the  division,  to  which  both  belonged. 
Afterwards  Philippi  quite  outstripped  its  rival  ;  but  it 
was  at  that  time  in  such  a  position,  that  Amphipolis  was 


Sec.  4.  The  Entrance  into  Macedonia.  207 

ranked  first  by  general  consent,  Philippi  first  by  its  own 
consent.  These  cases  of  rivalry  between  two  or  even 
three  cities  for  the  dignity  and  title  of  "  First "  are 
familiar  to  every  student  of  the  history  of  the  Greek 
cities  ;  and  though  no  other  evidence  is  known  to  show 
that  Philippi  had  as  yet  began  to  claim  the  title,  yet  this 
single  passage  is  conclusive.  The  descriptive  phrase  is 
like  a  lightning  flash  amid  the  darkness  of  local  history, 
revealing  in  startling  clearness  the  whole  situation  to 
those  whose  eyes  are  trained  to  catch  the  character  of 
Greek  city-history  and  city-jealousies. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  Luke,  who  hides  himself 
so  completely  in  his  history,  cannot  hide  his  local 
feeling ;  and  there  every  one  who  knows  the  Greek 
people  recognises  the  true  Greek  !  There  lies  the 
strength,  and  also  the  weakness,  of  the  Greek  peoples  ; 
and  that  quality  beyond  all  others  has  determined  their 
history,  has  given  them  their  strength  against  the 
foreigner,  and  their  weakness  as  a  united  country. 

Nationality  is  more  conspicuous  in  the  foibles  and 
weaknesses  of  mankind,  whereas  great  virtues  and  great 
vices  have  a  common  character  in  all  nations.  Luke 
shows  himself  the  Greek  when  he  talks  of  the  Maltese 
as  "  the  barbarians "  ;  when  he  regards  the  journey  to 
Jerusalem  as  a  journey  and  nothing  more ;  when  he 
misrepresents  the  force  of  a  Latin  word  (p.  225)  ;  when 
he  is  blind  to  the*true  character  of  the  Roman  name 
(the  tria  nomind)  ;  when  he  catches  with  such  apprecia- 
tion and  such  ease  the  character  of  Paul's  surroundings 
in  Athens.  His  hatred  of  the  Jews  and  his  obvious 
inability  to  feel  the  slightest  sympathy  for  their  attitude 
towards  Paul,  are  also  Greek.     On    the    other  hand,  his 


2o8  The  Coining  of  Luke.  Chap.  IX. 

touches  of  quiet  humour  are  perhaps  less  characteristically- 
Greek  ;  but  he  was  not  the  old  Greek  of  the  classical 
period :  he  was  the  Greek  of  his  own  age,  when  Greece 
had  been  for  centuries  a  power  in  Asia;  when  Macedonia 
had  long  been  the  leading  Greek  country ;  when 
Stoicism  and  Epicureanism  were  the  representative 
philosophies  (XVII  i8) ;  and  when  the  Greek  language 
was  the  recognised  speech  of  many  eastern  Roman 
provinces,  along  with  the  Latin  itself  To  appreciate 
Luke,  we  must  study  the  modern  Greek,  as  well  as  the 
Greek  of  the  great  age  of  freedom. 

I  know  that  all  such  mundane  characteristics  are 
commonly  considered  to  be  non-existent  in  "  the  early 
Christian"  !  But  an  "early  Christian"  did  not  cease  to 
be  a  man,  and  a  citizen.  Christianity  has  not  taught 
men  to  retire  from  society  and  from  life  ;  and  least  of 
all  did  Pauline  Christianity  teach  that  lesson.  It  has 
impressed  on  men  the  duty  of  living  their  life  better,  of 
striving  to  mould  and  to  influence  society  around  them,  and 
of  doing  their  best  in  the  position  in  which  they  were 
placed.  When  Luke  became  a  Christian,  he  continued 
to  be  a  Greek,  and  perhaps  became  even  more  intensely 
a  Greek,  as  his  whole  life  became  more  intense  and 
more  unselfish.  It  is  a  complete  and  ruinous  error  for 
the  historical  student  to  suppose  that  Luke  broke  with 
all  his  old  thoughts,  and  habits,  and  feelings,  and  friends, 
when  he  was  converted.  He  lived  in  externals  much  as 
before  ;  he  observed  the  same  laws  of  politeness  and  good- 
breeding  in  society  (if  he  followed  Paul's  instructions)  ; 
his  house,  his  surroundings,  continued  much  the  same  ; 
he  kept  up  the  same  family  names  ;  and,  when  he  died, 
his  grave,  his  tombstone,  and    his   epitaph,    were    in    the 


Sec.  4.  The  Entrance  into  Macedonia.  209 


ordinary  style.  It  took  centuries  for  Christianity  to 
disengage  itself  from  its  surroundings,  and  to  remake 
society  and  the  rules  of  life.  Yet  one  rarely  finds 
among  modern  historians  of  Christianity  in  the  first  two 
centuries  of  its  growth,  any  one  who  does  not  show  a 
misconception  on  this  point ;  and  the  climax,  perhaps, 
is  reached  in  one  of  the  arguments  by  which  Dr.  Ficker 
attempts  to  disprove  the  Christian  character  of  the 
epitaph  of  the  Phrygian  second-century  saint,  Avircius 
Marcellus,  on  the  ground  that  a  Christian  epitaph  would 
not  be  engraved  on  an  altar.  I  presume  his  point  is 
that  the  altar-shaped  form  of  tombstone  was  avoided  by 
the  Christians  of  that  time,  because  it  was  connected 
with  the  pagan  worship.  But  a  Pauline  Christian  would 
hold  that  "  a  gravestone  will  not  commend  us  to  God  ; 
neither,  if  we  use  it  not,  are  we  the  worse,  nor  if  we  use 
it,  are  we  the  better"  (I  Cor.  VIII  8);  and  Avircius 
Marcellus  mentions  Paul,  and  Paul  alone  among  the 
Apostles,  in  his  epitaph.  In  fact,  almost  all  the  early 
Christian  epitaphs  at  Eumeneia  are  engraved  on  altars, 
because  there  that  shape  was  fashionable ;  whereas  at 
Apameia  they  are  rarely  on  altars,  because  there  that 
shape  was  not  in  such  common  use. 

Our  view  that  the  author  of  Acts  was  a  Macedonian  does 
not  agree  with  a  tradition  (which  was  believed  to  occur 
in  Eusebius,  see  p.  389)  that  Luke  was  an  Antiochian. 
The  modern  authorities  who  consider  this  tradition  to  be 
founded  on  a  confusion  between  Lucas  and  Lucius,  an 
official  of  the  Antiochian  Church  (XIII  i),  seem  to  have 
strong  probability  on  their  side.  The  form  Lucas  may 
very  well  be  a  vulgarism  for  Lucius  ;  but,  except  the  name, 
these  two  persons  have  nothing  in  common.     The  name 

H 


2IO  The   Cojuing  of  Luke.  Chap.  IX. 

Lucas  is  of  most  obscure  origin :  it  may  be  a  shortened 
form  of  Lucius,  or  Lucilius,  or  Lucianus,  or  Lucanus,  or  of 
some  Greek  compound  name.  The  Latin  names,  Lucius, 
Lucilius,  etc.,  were  spelt  in  earlier  Greek  AevKLo<;,  in  later 
Greek  Aovicto<i  ;  and  the  change  may  roughly  be  dated 
about  A.D,  50-75,  though  AevKio<i  in  some  rare  cases  occurs 
later,  and  possibly  AovKLo<i  sometimes  earlier.  It  is  note- 
worthy that  AovKa<^  has  the  later  form. 

The  Bezan  "we"  in  XI  28  will  satisfy  those  who  consider 
the  Bezan  Text  to  be  Lukan  ;  but  to  us  it  appears  to 
condemn  the  Bezan  Text  as  of  non-Lukan  origin.  The 
warmth  of  feeling,  which  breathes  through  all  parts  of  Acts 
dealing  with  the  strictly  Greek  world,  is  in  striking  contrast 
with  the  cold  and  strictly  historical  tone  of  the  few  brief 
references  to  Syrian  Antioch.  If  the  author  of  Acts  was  a 
native  bred  up  in  Antioch,  then  we  should  have  to  infer 
that  there  lay  behind  him  an  older  author,  whose  work  he 
adapted  with  little  change.  But  our  view  is  that  the 
Reviser  had  an  Antiochian  connection,  and  betrays  it  in 
that  insertion,  which  to  him  recorded  a  historical  fact,  but 
to  us  seems  legend  in  an  early  stage  of  growth. 

Note  I.  rrjv  ^pvyuav  Koi  TaXaTLKrjv  ')((apav.  The  use  of 
KoX  to  connect  two  epithets  of  the  same  person  or  place  is 
regular  in  Greek  (so  2avXo<i  6  kuI  ITauXo?,  Saul  ak'as  Paul); 
£.£;■.,  Strabo  speaks  of  a  mouth  of  the  Nile  as  ro  Kavw^iKov 
Kot  'HpaKkewTiKov,  the  mouth  which  is  called  by  both 
names,  Canopic  and  Heracleotic,  where  we  should  say, 
"the  Canopic  or  Heracleotic  mouth".  I  need  not  dwell 
on  such  an  elementary  point.  Another  point  of  Greek 
construction  comes  up  in  XVIII  23  :  when  a  list  is  given  in 
Greek,  the  items  of  which  are  designated  by  adjectives 
with  the  same  noun,  the  regular  order  is  to  use  the  noun 


Note  I.  The  Phrygo-Galatic  Region.  211 

with  the  first  alone.  Strabo  has  numberless  examples  ; 
J^"]^  TOiV  TrapaK€L[xev(i)V  ^Apa^ioov  eOvoyv  Na^araicov  re  koL 
XayXoTOTraicov  Kal  'Aypaucov  ;  75Ij  0  'ApKevOr]^;  Trorafio'i  Kol 
6  'OpovTT]'?  Kal  6  Aa/3(oTa<;  ;  802,  to  MepBijaiov  arofia  Kal  to 
TavLTCKov  (there  are  some  interesting  and  delicate  examples 
in  Strabo,  on  which  we  cannot  here  dwell,  of  the  distinc- 
tion between  the  double  epithet  and  the  double  item)  ; 
Herodotus,  II  17,  to  8e  BoX/3ctlvov  a-TOfjua  Kal  to  BovkoXlkov; 
and  so  Luke  groups  two  Regiones  as  ttiv  FaXaTiKrjv 
Xf^pav  Kal  ^pvyiav,  XVIII  23.  The  North-Galatian  the- 
orists insist  that  '^pvytav  in  XVI  6  must  be  an  adjective ;  *  ^^ 
but  they  have  not  quoted  any  case  in  which  a  noun  with 
its  adjective  is  coupled  anarthrously  by  /cat  to  a  preceding 
noun  with  the  article.  Dr.  Chase  quoted  Luke  III  i,  t^? 
'lTovpala<i  Kal  TpaxcovLTiBo(i  %(wpa9 ;  but  the  case  tells 
against  him,  for  Luke's  intention  to  use  'Irovpala^  here  as 
an  adjective  is  proved  by  the  following  reasons  : — 

(i)  Eusebius  and  Jerome  repeatedly  interpret  Lnke  III 
I  in  that  way  (see  Expositor,  Jan.  1894,  p.  52  ;  April,  p. 
289).  (2)  ""iTovpala  is  never  used  as  a  noun  by  the 
ancients,  but  is  pointedly  avoided,  even  where  77  ''Irov- 
paltov  was  awkward  :  the  reason  was  that  'Irovpaia,  as 
a  noun,  would  indicate  a  political  entity,  whereas  the 
Ituraei  were  a  wandering  nomadic  race,  who  had  not  a 
definite  and  organised  country.  As  my  other  reasons 
have  been  disputed,  I  do  not  append  them  here  ;  though 
I  consider  them  unshaken.  [Mr.  Arnold's  attempt  to 
find  one  instance  of  'Irovpaia  as  a  noun  in  Appian 
seems  to  refute  itself,  Engl.  Hist.  Rev.,   1895,  p.   553.] 

Note  2.  BirjXdov  Tr}v  $.  K.  F.  %a»/3av  K(oXv9evTe(;.     Many 

"  are  likely  to   rest   on   the  authority  of  the  great    MSS., 

and   prefer  this   reading.     It  may   be  understood,   by  an 


2  12  The  Coming  of  Ltike.  Chap.  IX. 

ellipse  common  in  Greek,  "  they  made  a  missionary- 
progress  through  the  Phrygian  land,  viz.,  the  Galatic 
part  of  it,  inasmuch  as  they  were  prevented  from  preach- 
ing in  Asia,  and  could  not,  therefore,  do  missionary 
work  in  the  Asian  part  of  it".  But,  if  this  were  the 
writing  of  Luke,  I  should  prefer  to  hold  that  he  meant 
BcrjXdov  Kol  eKcoXvdrjaav,  using  a  construction  which  he 
has  in  (l)  XXIII  35  €(f>rj  Ke\evaa<i  he  said,  "I  will  hear 
thee,  when  thy  accusers  arrive,"  and  ordered  him  to  be 
imprisoned:  (2)  XXV  13  KaTrjVTrjaav  daTraad/xei'OL  "  t/zejy 
arrived  at  Caesareia  and  paid  their  respects  to  Festus " : 
(3)  XVII  26  iTTolrjcrev  e^  ivot,  opLcra^  " /le  made  all 
nations  of  one  blood,  and  assigned  to  them  limits  and 
bounds "  (here  the  unity  of  all  nations  is  the  initial 
idea,  and  the  fixing  of  limits  and  distinctions  is  later). 
Blass,  who  thus  explains  XXIII  35,  gives  in  his  preface, 
p.  20,  many  examples  of  the  present  infinitive  used  in 
the  same  way  (XVIII  23  e^TjXOev  Step%o/iei/o?  he  went 
forth  and  made  a  progress  through  the  Galatic  Region, 
cp.  VI  9  dvecjTrjaav  crvv^TjTovvref;  they  rose  up  and 
disputed  with  Stephen,  VI  11  vire^aXov  avBpa<i  \eyovTa<i 
they  suborned  men  which  said  [also  VI  13],  VIII  10 
Trpoa-el'xpv  XiyovT€<i  they  hearkened  and  said,  V.  36 
dvearr)  Xijcou  he  stood  up  and  said,  VIII  18,  XIV  22, 
etc.) ;  and  he  accepts  and  prints  in  his  text  the  reading 
of  inferior  authority  in  XXVIII  14  irapeKXr^Orj/xev  Trap' 
avTOL<;,  eTrijieivavre'i  we  were  cheered  among  them,  and 
remained  seven  days.  The  usage  is  common  in  Paul. 
The  use  of  aorist  or  present  participle  corresponds  to 
the  tense  which  would  be  used  if  the  sentence  were 
constructed  in  the  fuller  fashion,  l^r)  koX  eKeXevaev 
but  i^rfXdev  koX  Birjpx^To  (Blass  differs  in  regard  to 
XXI    16,  which  he  says  =  avvrjXdov  koX  y^yayov). 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE  CHURCHES  OF  MACEDONIA. 

I.  PIIILIPPI.  (XVI  13)  ON  THE  SABBATH  DAY  WE 
WENT  FORTH  WITHOUT  THE  GATE  BY  THE  RIVER  SIDE, 
WHERE  THERE  WAS  WONT  TO  BE  HELD  A  MEETING  FOR 
PRAYER  ;  AND  WE  SAT  DOWN,  AND  SPAKE  UNTO  THE 
WOMEN  THAT  CAME  TOGETHER.  (14)  AND  A  CERTAIN 
WOMAN  NAMED  LYDIA,  A  SELLER  OF  PURPLE,  OF  THE 
CITY  OF  THYATIRA,  A  GOD-FEARING  proselyte,  WAS  A 
HEARER  ;  AND  THE  LORD  OPENED  HER  HEART  TO  GIVE 
HEED  UNTO  THE  THINGS  THAT  WERE  SPOKEN  BY  PAUL. 
(15)  AND  WHEN  SHE  WAS  BAPTISED  AND  HER  HOUSE- 
HOLD, SHE  BESOUGHT  US,  SAYING,  "  IF  YE  HAVE  JUDGED 
ME  TO  BE  FAITHFUL  TO  THE  LORD,  COME  INTO  MY  HOUSE 
AND  ABIDE  THERE  "  ;  AND  SHE  CONSTRAINED  US. 

The  omission  of  the  article  before  the  word  "  river " 
{iroTayiov)  is  one  of  the  touches  of  familiarity  which 
show  the  hand  of  one  who  knew  Philippi  well.  As  we 
say  "  I'm  going  to  town,"  the  Greeks  omitted  the  article 
with  familiar  and  frequently  mentioned  places  or  things. 
In  this  phrase  the  commentators  in  general  seem  to 
understand  that  the  Greek  words  mean  "along  a  river," 
which  is  the  form  of  expression  that  a  complete  stranger 
might   use   about  a  city  and   a   river  that  he  had   only 

heard  of. 

(213 


2  14  ^'^^  Churches  of  Macedonia.  Chap.  X, 

The  text  of  the  next  clause  is  uncertain  ;  but  we  hold 
that  the  Authorised  Version  is  right,  following  the 
inferior  MSS.  (see  note,  p.  235).  On  the  first  Sabbath  they 
went  along  the  river-bank  to  the  regular  place  where 
the  Jews  in  Philippi,  and  those  non-Jews  who  had  been 
attracted  to  Jewish  customs,  were  wont  to  meet  in 
prayer.  There  seems  to  have  been  no  proper  synagogue, 
which  shows  that  the  Jewish  community  was  very 
small ;  and  in  the  rest  of  the  narrative  no  Jew  is 
mentioned. 

Lydia,  the  Thyatiran  woman,  settled  at  Philippi,  is  an 
interesting  person  in  many  respects.  Thyatira,  like  the 
Lydian  land  in  general,  was  famous  for  its  dyeing ;  and 
its  guild  of  dyers  is  known  from  the  inscriptions. 
Lydia  sold  the  purple  dyed  garments  from  Thyatira  in  , 
Philippi  ;  and  she  had,  no  doubt,  a  regular  connection 
with  a  firm  in  her  native  city,  whose  agent  she  was.  In 
ancient  time  many  kinds  of  garments  were  woven  in 
their  perfect  shape  ;  and  there  was  much  less  cutting 
and  sewing  of  cloth  than  at  the  present  day.  Lydia, 
of  course,  sold  also  the  less  expensive  kinds  of  garments  \ 
but  she  takes  her  trade-name  from  the  finest  class  of 
her  wares,  indicating  that  she  was  a  first-class  dealer. 
She  must  have  possessed  a  considerable  amount  of 
capital  to  trade  in  such  articles.  As  her  husband  is  not 
mentioned,  and  she  was  a  householder,  she  was  probably 
a  widow  ;  and  she  may  be  taken  as  an  ordinary  example 
of  the  freedom  with  which  women  lived  and  worked  both 
in  Asia  Minor  and  in  Macedonia. 

Lydia  had  probably  become  addicted  to  Jewish  religious 
practices  in  her  native  city.  There  had  been  a  Jewish 
colony  planted  in  Thyatira,  which  had  exercised  consider- 


Sec.  I.  Philippi.  215 

able  influence  on  the  city  ;  and  a  hybrid  sort  of  worship 
had  been  developed,  half  Jewish,  half  pagan,  which  is  called 
\x\  Revelation  II  20,  "the  woman  Jezebel".^ 

It  is  not  to  be  inferred  that  Lydia  and  her  house- 
hold were  baptised  on  the  first  Sabbath.  A  certain 
interval  must  be  admitted  in  v.  14,  which  shows  Luke's 
looseness  about  time.  Lydia  was  present  on  the  first 
Sabbath,  and  became  a  regular  hearer  ;  and  finally  her 
entire  household  came  over  with  her. 

2.  THE  VENTRILOQUIST.  (XVI  16)  AND  IT  CAME 
TO  PASS,  AS  WE  WERE  GOING  TO  THE  PLACE  OF 
PRAYER,  THAT  A  CERTAIN  SLAVE-GIRL,  POSSESSED  OF  A 
SPIRIT  PYTHON,  i.e.,  a  ventriloquist,  MET  US,  WHICH 
BROUGHT  HER  MASTERS  MUCH  GAIN  BY  SOOTHSAYING. 
(17)  THE  SAME,  FOLLOWING  AFTER  PAUL  AND  US, 
KEPT  CRYING  OUT  SAYING,  "  THESE  MEN  ARE  THE 
SLAVES  OF  THE  GOD  THE  HIGHEST,  WHICH  ANNOUNCE 
TO  YOU  THE  WAY  OF  SAFETY".  (18)  AND  THIS  SHE  DID 
FOR  MANY  DAYS.  BUT  PAUL,  BEING  SORE  TROUBLED, 
TURNED  AND  SAID  TO  THE  SPIRIT,  "  I  CHARGE  THEE 
IN  THE  NAME  OF  JESUS  THE  ANOINTED  TO  GO  OUT 
FROM   HER  "  ;  AND   IT   WENT   OUT   THAT   VERY    MOMENT. 

The  idea  was  universally  entertained  that  ventriloquism 
was  due  to  superhuman  influence,  and  implied  the 
power  of  foretelling  the  future.  The  girl  herself  believed 
this  ;  and  in  her  belief  lay  her  power.  Her  words  need 
not  be  taken  as  a  witness  to  Christianity.  "  God  the 
Highest "  was  a  wide-spread  pagan  expression,  and 
"  salvation  "  was  the  object  of  many  vows  and  prayers 
to  that  and  other  gods.  We  need  not  ask  too  curiously 
what    was    her    motive    in    thus    calling    out    at    Paul's 

^  See  Schiirer  in  Abhandluiigen   Wcizsiickcr  gcwidmcf,  p.  39. 


2i6  The  Chtu'ches  of  Macedonia.        Chap. X. 

company.  In  such  a  case  there  is  no  distinct  motive  ; 
for  it  is  a  poor  and  false  view,  and  one  that  shows 
utter  incapacity  to  gauge  human  nature,  that  the  girl 
was  a  mere  impostor.  That  her  mind  became  distorted 
and  diseased  by  her  belief  in  her  supernatural  possession, 
is  certain  ;  but  it  became  thereby  all  the  more  acute  in 
certain  perceptions  and  intuitions.  With  her  sensitive 
nature,  she  became  at  once  alive  to  the  moral  influence, 
which  the  intense  faith  by  which  the  strangers  were 
possessed  gave  them,  and  she  must  say  what  she  felt 
without  any  definite  idea  of  result  therefrom  ;  for  the 
immediate  utterance  of  her  intuitions  was  the  secret  of 
her  power.  She  saw  in  Paul  what  the  populace  at 
Pisidian  Antioch  saw  in  Thekla,  "  a  devotee,  bound  by 
some  unusual  conditions,  an  inspired  servant  of  '  the 
God/  who  differed  from  the  usual  type "  of  "  God- 
driven  "  devotees. 

When  Paul  turned  on  her,  and  ordered  the  spirit  to  come 
forth  from  her  in  the  name  of  his  Master,  the  girl,  who  had 
been  assiduously  declaring  that  Paul  and  his  companions 
were  God-possessed,  and  fully  believed  it,  was  utterly 
disconcerted,  and  lost  her  faith  in  herself  and  with  it  her 
power.  When  next  she  tried  to  speak  as  she  had 
formerly  done,  she  was  unable  to  do  so  ;  and  in  a  few 
days  it  became  apparent  that  she  had  lost  her  power. 
Along  with  her  power,  her  hold  on  the  superstitions 
of  the  populace  disappeared  ;  and  people  ceased  to  come 
to  her  to  have  their  fortunes  read,  to  get  help  in  finding 
things  they  had  lost,  and  so  on.  Thus  the  comfortable 
income  that  she  had  earned  for  her  owners  was  lost ; 
and  these,  knowing  who  had  done  the  mischief,  sought 
revenge.     This  was    by  no  means  a  rare  motive   for  the 


Sec.  2.  The    Ventriloquist.  217 

outbreak  of  persecution  against  the  Church  in  later 
time ;  and  at  this  stage,  when  Christianity  was  an  un- 
known religion,  it  was  only  through  its  interference 
with  the  profits  of  any  individual  or  any  class  (p.  277) 
that  it  was  likely  to  arouse  opposition  among  the  pagans. 

3.  ACCUSATION  AND  CONDEMNATION  IN  PHI  LI  PPL 
(XVI  19)  BUT,  WHEN  HER  MASTERS  SAW  THAT  THEIR 
HOPE  OF  GAIN  HAD  DEPARTED,  THEY  SEIZED  PAUL 
AND  SILAS  [and  DRAGGED  THEM  INTO  THE  AGORA 
BEFORE  THE  MAGISTRATES],  (20)  [AND  BRINGING  THEM 
TO  THE  PRESENCE  OF  THE  PR^TORS],  THEY  SAID, 
"  THESE  MEN  DO  EXCEEDINGLY  DISTURB  OUR  CITY, 
JEWS  AS  THEY  ARE,  (21)  AND  RECOMMEND  CUSTOMS, 
WHICH  IT  IS  ILLEGAL  FOR  US  TO  RECEIVE  OR  TO 
OBSERVE,  AS  WE  ARE  ROMANS  ".  (22)  AND  THE 
POPULACE  ROSE  IN  A  BODY  AGAINST  THEM  ;  AND 
THE  PR.ETORS,  RENDING  THEIR  GARMENTS  in  horror, 
BADE  the  lictors  BEAT  THEM,  (23)  AND  WHEN  THEY 
HAD  LAID  MANY  STRIPES  ON  THEM,  THEY  CAST  THEM 
INTO  PRISON,  CHARGING  THE  JAILOR  TO  KEEP  THEM 
SAFELY  :  (24)  AND  HE  HAVING  RECEIVED  SUCH  A 
CHARGE,  CAST  THEM  INTO  THE  INNER  PRISON,  AND 
MADE    THEIR    FEET    FAST    IN    THE    STOCKS. 

It  is  hardly  possible  that  vv.  19,  20  have  the  final 
form  that  the  writer  would  have  given  them.  The 
expression  halts  between  the  Greek  form  and  the  Latin, 
between  the  ordinary  Greek  term  for  the  supreme  board 
of  magistrates  in  any  city  (a/)^oi/Te9),  and  the  popular 
Latin  designation  {<jrpaT7)<^oi,  pr<ztores),  as  if  the  author 
had  not  quite  made  up  his  mind  which  he  should 
employ.  Either  of  the  clauses  bracketed  is  sufficient  in 
itself ;    and   it   is    hardly   possible   that    a   writer,    whose 


2 1 8  The  Churches  of  Macedonia.        Chap,  x, 

expression  is  so  concise,  should  have  intended  to  leave 
in  his  text  two  clauses  which  say  exactly  the  same 
thing. 

The  title  Praetors  w^as  not  technically  accurate,  but 
was  frequently  employed  as  a  courtesy  title  for  the 
supreme  magistrates  of  a  Roman  colony ;  and,  as  usual, 
Luke  moves  on  the  plane  of  educated  conversation  in 
such  matters,  and  not  on  the  plane  of  rigid  technical 
accuracy.     He  writes  as  the  scene  was  enacted. 

It  is  impossible  and  unnecessary  to  determine  whether 
the  slave-girl's  owners  were  actually  Roman  citizens. 
They  speak  here  as  representatives  of  the  general  popula- 
tion. The  actual  coloni  planted  here  by  Augustus  when 
he  founded  the  colony,  were  probably  far  outnumbered 
by  the  Greek  population  (incolcB)  ;  and  it  is  clear  that 
in  the  colonies  of  the  Eastern  provinces,  any  Italian 
coloni  soon  melted  into  the  mass  of  the  population,  and 
lost  most  of  their  distinctive  character,  and  probably 
forgot  even  their  language.  The  exact  legal  relation 
of  the  native  Greek  population  to  the  Roman  coloni  is 
uncertain  ;  but  it  is  certain  that  the  former  occupied  some 
kind  of  intermediate  position  between  ordinary  provincials 
and  Romans  or  Latins  (when  the  colony  was  a  Latin 
colony  like  Antioch),  These  colonies  were  one  of  the 
means  whereby  Rome  sought  to  introduce  the  Roman 
spirit  and  feeling  into  the  provinces,  to  romanise  them  ; 
and  the  accusation  lodged  against  Paul,  with  the  whole 
scene  that  followed,  are  a  proof,  in  this  vivid  photographic 
picture,  that  the  population  prided  themselves  on  their 
Roman  character  and  actually  called  themselves  Romans,^ 
as  they  called  their  magistrates  Praetors. 

Paul   on   other  occasions   claimed  his  right  of  citizen- 


Sec.  3.  Accusation  and  Condemnation.  2 1 9 

ship ;  why  not  here  ?  It  is  evident  that  the  Praetors 
made  a  great  to-do  over  this  case  :  they  regarded  it  as 
a  case  of  treason,  or,  as  it  was  termed  in  Greek, 
"impiety"  (dcre/3eta),  rent  their  clothes  in  loyal  horror, 
with  the  fussy,  consequential  airs  that  Horace  satirises 
in  the  would-be  Praetor  of  a  country  town  {Sat.  I  5,  34)  : 
the  fabric  of  the  Empire  was  shaken  to  its  foundations 
by  this  disgraceful  conduct  of  the  accused  persons  ; 
but  the  Praetors  of  Philippi  stood  firm,  and  the  populace 
rose  as  one  man,  like  true  Romans,  to  defend'  their 
country  against  her  insidious  enemies.  In  such  a  scene 
what  chance  was  there  that  Paul's  protest  should  be 
listened  to  ?  Perhaps  it  was  made  and  not  listened  to, 
since  the  whole  proceedings  were  so  disorderly  and 
irregular. 

The  first  person  ceases  at  this  point ;  the  author  was 
not  arrested,  and  therefore  could  not  speak  in  the  first 
person  of  what  happened  in  the  prison.  He  did  not 
accompany  Paul  further ;  but  remained  at  Philippi  as 
his  headquarters,  till  Paul  returned  there,  XX  6,  when 
the  first  person  is  resumed.  It  is  only  natural  to  under- 
stand that  he  was  left  in  Philippi,  because  of  his  obvious 
suitability  for  the  work  of  evangelising  that  city ;  and 
his  success  was  so  striking  that  his  "  praise  in  the 
preaching  of  the  good  news  was  through  all  the  Churches," 
II  Co7\  VIII  18  (a  passage  which  is  understood  by  early 
tradition  as  referring  to  Luke).  At  the  same  time  it  is 
clear  that  he  had  not  been  a  householder  in  Philippi 
previously,    for    he    went    with    Paul    to    enjoy    Lydia's 

hospitality. 

4.  THE  PRISON  AND  THE  EARTHQUAKE. 
(XVI   25)   BUT  ABOUT   MIDNIGHT   PAUL  AND   SILAS   WERE 


2  20  The  Churches  of  Macedonia.         Chap,  X. 

PRAYING  AND  SINGING  HYMNS  UNTO  GOD,  AND  THE 
PRISONERS  WERE  LISTENING  TO  THEM  ;  (26}  AND 
SUDDENLY  THERE  WAS  A  GREAT  EARTHQUAKE,  SO 
THAT  THE  FOUNDATIONS  OF  THE  PRISON-HOUSE  WERE 
SHAKEN  ;  AND  IMMEDIATELY  ALL  THE  DOORS  WERE 
OPENED  ;  AND  EVERY  ONE'S  FETTERS  WERE  SHAKEN 
OUT.  (27)  AND  THE  JAILOR,  BEING  ROUSED  FROM 
SLEEP,  AND  SEEING  THE  PRISON-DOORS  OPEN,  DREW 
HIS  SWORD,  AND  WAS  ABOUT  TO  KILL  HIMSELF,  CON- 
SIDERING THAT  THE  PRISONERS  HAD  ESCAPED.  (28) 
BUT  PAUL  CRIED  OUT  WITH  A  LOUD  VOICE,  "  DO 
THYSELF  NO  HARM,  FOR  WE  ARE  ALL  HERE  ".  (29) 
AND  CALLING  FOR  LIGHTS,  HE  RAN  HASTILY  IN,  AND 
TREMBLING  FOR  FEAR  THREW  HIMSELF  BEFORE  PAUL 
AND  SILAS,  (30)  AND  BROUGHT  THEM  OUT  [WHEN  HE 
HAD  MADE  THE  REST  FAST],  AND  SAID,  "  SIRS !  WHAT 
MUST  I  DO  TO  BE  SAVED?"  (31)  AND  THEY  SAID, 
"BELIEVE  ON  THE  LORD  JESUS,  AND  THOU  SHALT  BE 
SAVED,  THOU  AND  THY  HOUSE".  (32)  AND  THEY 
SPAKE  THE  WORD  OF  THE  LORD  TO  HIM,  WITH  ALL 
THAT  WERE  IN  HIS  HOUSE.  (33)  AND  HE  TOOK  THEM 
AT  THAT  HOUR  OF  THE  NIGHT  AND  WASHED  THEM 
OF  THEIR  STRIPES  ;  AND  WAS  BAPTISED,  HE  AND  ALL 
HIS  IMMEDIATELY.  (34)  AND  HE  BROUGHT  THEM  UP 
INTO  HIS  HOUSE,  AND  SET  MEAT  BEFORE  THEM,  AND 
REJOICED  GREATLY,  WITH  ALL  HIS  HOUSE,  HAVING 
CONCEIVED    FAITH   IN   GOD. 

There  are  several  difficulties  which  occur  to  every  one 
on  first  reading  this  passage,  (i)  The  opening  of  the 
doors  and  the  undoing  of  the  bonds  by  the  earthquake 
seem  incredible  to  one  who  thinks  of  doors  like  those 
in  our  prisons  and  of  handcuffed  prisoners.     But  any  one 


Sec.  4-        The  Prison  and  the  Earthquake.  221 

that   has   seen    a    Turkish    prison   will   not   wonder   that 
the    doors    were   thrown    open:    each    door  was   merely 
closed  by  a  bar,  and    the  earthquake,  as  it  passed  along 
the  ground,  forced  the  door  posts  apart  from  each  other, 
so  that  the  bar  slipped  from  its  hold,  and  the  door  swung 
open.      The    prisoners    were    fastened    to   the   wall  or  in 
wooden  stocks,  v.  24 ;    and    the    chains    and   stocks  were 
detached  from  the  wall,  which  was  shaken  so  that  spaces 
gaped   between   the  stones.     In  the  great   earthquakes  of 
tsSo  at  Smyrna,  and    1881    at   Scio,    I    had   the   oppor- 
tunity of  seeing  and  hearing  of  the   strangely    capricious 
action  of  an  earthquake,  which  behaves  sometimes  like  a 
playful,  good-natured  sprite,  when  it  spares  its  full  terrors.^ 
(2)  Why  did   not  the  prisoners   run    away  when  their 
fetters  were  loosed?     The   question    is    natural    to   those 
who    are    familiar   with   the    northern    races,    and     their 
self-centred  tenacity  of  purpose    and    presence    of   mind. 
An  earthquake  strikes    panic  into  the  semi-oriental  mob 
in  the  ^gean  lands ;  and  it   seems  to  me  quite  natural 
that   the  prisoners    made   no   dash   for  safety   when    the 
opportunity    was    afforded   them.      Moreover,    they  were 
still   only   partially  free ;    and    they   had  only  a  moment 
for  action.     The  jailor  was  also  roused  by  the  earthquake, 
and   came  to  the  outer  door  ;  he  was  perhaps  a  soldier, 
or   at   least   had  something    of   Roman  discipline,  giving 
him  presence  of  mind  ;    his   call   for   lights   brought   the 
body  of  diogmitai  or    other   class   of  police  who   helped 
to  guard  the  prisoners  ;  and  the  opportunity  was  lost. 

(3)  It  was  midnight,  and  the  jailor  had  to  call  for 
lights  :  how  could  Paul  from  the  inner  prison  see  that 
the  jailor  was  going  to  kill  himself?  We  must  under- 
stand that  the  inner   prison    was  a  small  cell,  which  had 


222  The  Churches  of  Macedonia.         Chap.  X. 

no  window  and  no  opening,  except  into  the  outer  and 
larger  prison,  and  that  the  outer  prison,  also,  had  one 
larger  door  in  the  opposite  wall ;  then,  if  there  were  any- 
faint  starlight  in  the  sky,  still  more  if  the  moon  were 
up,  a  person  in  the  outer  doorway  would  be  distinguish- 
able to  one  whose  eyes  were  accustomed  to  the  darkness, 
but  the  jailor  would  see  only  black  darkness  in  the  prison. 

The  jailor  was  responsible  with  his  life  for  the  safety 
of  his  prisoners  ;  and,  concluding  from  the  sight  of  the 
open  door  that  they  had  managed  to  set  themselves 
free,  and  open  the  door,  and  escape,  he  preferred  death 
by  his  own  hand,  to  exposure,  disgrace,  and  a  dishonour- 
able death. 

The  Bezan  Text  preserves  in  v.  30  a  little  detail,  which 
is  so  suggestive  of  the  orderly  well-disciplined  character 
of  the  jailor,  that  we  are  prompted  to  accept  it  as  genuine. 
The  jailor  first  attended  to  his  proper  work,  and  secured 
all  his  prisoners  ;  and  thereafter  he  attended  to  Paul 
and  Silas,  and  brought  them  forth.  It  seems  highly 
improbable  that  a  Christian  in  later  time  would  insert 
the  gloss  that  the  jailor  looked  after  his  prisoners  before 
he  cared  for  his  salvation  ;  it  is  more  in  the  spirit  of 
a  later  age  to  be  offended  with  the  statement  that  the 
jailor  did  so,  and  to  cut  it  out. 

In  his  subsequent  action  to  Paul  and  Silas,  the  jailor 
was  not  acting  illegally.  He  was  responsible  for  produc- 
ing his  prisoners  when  called  for  ;  but  it  was  left  to 
himself  to  keep  them  as  he  thought  best. 

5.  RELEASE  AND  DEPARTURE  FROM  PHILIPPI. 
(XVI  35)  AND  WHEN  DAY  WAS  COME  THE  PR.ETORS 
SENT  THE  LICTORS,  WITH  THE  MESSAGE  to  the  jailor : 
"  LET      THOSE      MEN      GO ".         (36)      AND      THE      JAILOR 


Sec.  5.    Release  and  Departure  fro7n  Philippi.     223 

REPORTED  THE  MESSAGE  TO  PAUL  THAT  "  THE  PR^TORS 
HAVE  SENT  orders  THAT  YOU  BE  SET  FREE.  NOW, 
THEREFORE,  GO  FORTH  AND  TAKE  YOUR  WAY  IN 
PEACE."  {ly)  BUT  PAUL  SAID  UNTO  TIIEM  :  "  THEY 
FLOGGED  US  IN  PUBLIC  zvithout  investigation,  ROMAN 
CITIZENS  AS  WE  ARE,  AND  CAST  US  INTO  PRISON  ; 
AND  NOW  DO  THEY  TURN  US  OUT  SECRETLY?  NOT 
SO  ;  BUT  LET  THEM  COME  IN  PERSON  AND  BRING  US 
OUT."  (38)  AND  THE  LICTORS  REPORTED  TO  THE 
PR^TORS  THESE  WORDS  ;  AND  THEY  WERE  TERRIFIED 
ON  HEARING  ^HAT  "  THEY  ARE  ROMAN  CITIZENS  "  ; 
(39)  AND  THEY  WENT  AND  BESOUGHT  THEM,  AND 
BROUGHT  THEM  OUT,  AND  ASKED  THEM  TO  GO  AWAY 
'from  THE  CITY.  (40)  AND  THEY  WENT  OUT  FROM 
THE  PRISON  AND  ENTERED  INTO  LYDIA'S  HOUSE  ;  AND 
THEY  SAW  AND  EXHORTED  THE  BRETHREN,  AND  WENT 
AWAY. 

The  sudden  change  of  attitude  on  the  part  of  the 
Praetors  is  remarkable.  One  day  they  sent  the  prisoners 
for  careful  custody :  the  next  morning  they  send  to 
release  them.  The  Bezan  Reviser  felt  the  inconsequence, 
and  inserts  an  explanation  :  "  And  when  day  was  come 
the  Praetors  [assembted  together  in  the  agora,  and 
remembering  the  earthquake  that  had  taken  place,  they 
were  afraid,  and]  sent  the  lictors".  But,  though 
this  is  modelled  on  Luke's  language  (cp.  I  15,  etc.), 
it  is  hardly  in  his  style  of  narrative.  It  is  more 
characteristic  of  him  to  give  no  explanation,  but  simply 
to  tell  the  facts.  Perhaps  the  earthquake  had  roused 
their  superstitious  fears  on  account  of  the  irregular  and 
arbitrary  proceedings  of  yesterday.  Perhaps  they  felt 
some   misgivings   about   their   action,  if  we   are   right  in 


2  24  '^^^^  Churches  of  Macedo7iia.  Chap.  X. 

thinking  that  Paul  and  Silas  had  appealed  vainly  to 
their  rights  as  Romans. 

Whatever  be  the  reason,  there  can  be  no  mistake  as 
to  Luke's  intention  to  bring  out  the  contrast  (i)  between 
the  orders  sent  to  the  jailor  in  the  morning,  and  the  charge 
given  to  them  at  night ;  (2)  between  the  humble  apology 
of  the  Praetors  in  the  morning,  and  their  haughty  action 
on  the  previous  day ;  (3)  between  the  real  fact,  that 
the  Praetors  had  trampled  on  Roman  order  and  right, 
and  their  fussy  pretence  of  vindicating  the  majesty  of 
Rome.  And  so  the  same  Praetors  who  had  ordered 
them  to  be  beaten  and  imprisoned  now  begged  them 
to  go  away  from  the  city.  In  the  Bezan  Text  the 
request  of  the  Praetors  is  put  at  greater  length,  and 
with  obvious  truth :  "  the  magistrates,  being  afraid  lest 
there  should  be  another  conspiracy  against  Paul,  and 
distrusting  their  own  ability  to  keep  order,  said,  '  Go 
forth  from  this  city,  lest  they  again  make  a  riot  and 
inveigh  loudly  against  you  to  us ' ".  The  weakness  of 
municipal  government  in  the  cities  of  the  .^gean  lands 
was  always  a  danger  to  order  ;  and  the  Bezan  Text 
hits  off  admirably  the  situation,  and  brings  out  with 
much  skill  the  naive  desire  of  the  magistrates  to  avoid 
an  unpleasant  case  by  inducing  the  innocent  and  weaker 
parties  to  submit  to  injustice  and  withdraw  from  the 
city.     One  would  gladly  think  this  Lukan. 

In  V.  37  the  rendering  (A.V.  and  R.V.)  "uncon- 
demned  "  does  not  fairly  represent  Paul's  meaning, 
for  it  suggests  that  it  would  have  been  allowable  for 
the  Praetors  to  condemn  Paul  after  fair  trial  to  be  flogged. 
But  the  Praetors  could  not  in  any  circumstances  order 
him    to    be    flogged  ;    in    fact,    formal    trial    would    only 


Sec.  5-     Release  and  Departure  from  PliUippi.      2  2  5 


a<.<,ravate  their  crime,  as  making  it  more  deliberate. 
The  crime  might  be  palliated  by  pleading  that  it  was 
done  in  ignorance  :  and  Paul  would  naturally  cut  away 
the  plea  by  saying  that  they  had  made  no  attempt  to 
investigate  the  facts.  Yet  the  Greek  is  clear,  and  can 
only  be  translated  "  uncondemned ".  A  parallel  case 
occurs  XXII  25,  where  Paul  asks  the  centunon :  .s 
it  lawful  for  you  to  flog  a  man  that  is  a  Roman  ct.zen, 
and  him  uncondemned?"  Here  there  is  the  same  false 
implication  that  the  act  would  be  aggravated  by  bemg 
done  without  the  proper  formal  condemnation 

Yet  Paul  as  a  Roman  citizen,  must  have  known  his 
rights  ;  and  it  seems  clear  that  he  could  not  have  used 
the  exact  words  which  Luke  reports.  Now.  when  we 
consider  the  facts,  we  see  that  it  must  be  so.  No  cm. 
Romanus  would  claim  his  rights  in  Greek  ;  the  very  idea 
is  ludicrous.  Paul  claimed  them  in  the  Roman  tongue  ; 
and  we  may  fairly  understand  that  the  officials  of  a  Roman 
colony  were  expected  to  understand  Latin  ;  for  the  official 
language  even  of  far  less  important  colonies  in  Asia 
Minor  was  Latin.  The  phrase  which  Paul  used  was 
most  probably  re  incosnita,  "without  investigating  our 
case"  Luke,  however,  had  the  true  Greek  inaoility 
to  sympathise  with  the  delicacies  of  Roman  usage,  and 
translates  the  Latin  by  a  term,  which  would  in  some 
circumstances  be  a  fair  representative,  but  not  here,  nor 

■y-V  T  T     2C 

The  whole  residence  of  Paul  at  Philippi  seems  to  have 
been  short:  it  is  defined  by  Luke  as  being  "for  certain 
days,"  and  apparently  not  much  seems  to  have  been 
accomplished  before  the  incident  of  the  ventriloquist  and 
the  resulting  imprisonment.     If  the  party  was  at  Troa, 


2  26  The  Churches  of  Macedonia.         Chap.  x. 


in  October  A.D.  50,  they  probably  left  Philippi  before  the 
end  of  the  year.  It  seems  probable  from  v.  40  that  there 
were  some  other  Christians  besides  those  in  Lydia's  house. 
It  is,  however,  remarkable  that  Luke  makes  no  explicit 
reference  to  any  other  converts. 

Doubtless,  before  Paul  left,  the  question  was  discussed 
what  should  be  his  next  centre  ;  and  Thessalonica  was 
suggested,  probably  on  account  of  its  Jewish  settlers, 
whose  synagogue  offered  a  good  opening  for  work.  The 
directions  which  were  given  the  travellers  at  starting 
were  to  make  their  way  along  the  Roman  road  through 
Amphipolis  and  Apollonia  to  Thessalonica  (XVII  i, 
where  SwSeyo-ai/re?  is  the  verb,  6S09  denoting  the  Roman 
road). 

6.  THESSALONICA.  (XVII  l)  AND  THEY  WENT 
ALONG  THE  Roman  ROAD  THROUGH  AMPHIPOLIS  AND 
APOLLONIA,  AND  CAME  TO  THESSALONICA,  WHERE 
WAS  A  SYNAGOGUE  OF  THE  JEWS.  (2)  AND,  AS  WAS 
CUSTOMARY  WITH  PAUL,  HE  WENT  IN  TO  ADDRESS 
THEM,  AND  FOR  THREE  SABBATHS  HE  REASONED  WITH 
THEM  FROM  THE  SCRIPTURES,  (3)  OPENING  THEIR 
MEANING,  AND  QUOTING  TO  PROVE  THAT  IT  WAS 
PROPER  TPIAT  THE  ANOINTED  ONE  SHOULD  SUFFER 
AND  RISE  AGAIN  FROM  THE  DEAD,  AND  THAT  "  THE 
ANOINTED  ONE  IS  THIS  man,  THE  very  JESUS  WHOM 
I  AM  PROCLAIMING  TO  YOU  ".  (4)  AND  SOME  OF  THEM 
WERE  PERSUADED  ;  AND  THERE  WERE  IN  ADDITION 
GATHERED  TO  PAUL  AND  SILAS  MANY  OF  THE  GOD- 
FEARING proselytes,  AND  A  GREAT  MULTITUDE  OF  THE 
GREEKS,    AND    OF    THE    LEADING    WOMEN    NOT    A    FEW.^ 

^  In  f.  4  Kox  Tives  f$  avTuiv  fneiadrjaav.  Koi  npocreKkTjpoidtjcrav  rw 
TlavXo}    KOL    2iXa    ttoXXoI    tcov    ae^ofxtvoiu,    Koi      'EWrjvutv    irXrjOos    ttoXv, 


iS£c.  6.  Thessalonica.  227 

The  curious  and  rare  title  "  politarchs "  was  given  to 
the  supreme  board  of  magistrates  at  Thessalonica,  as  is 
proved  by  an  inscription. 

This  passage  is  full  of  difficulty  both  in  text  and  in 
interpretation.  Our  text,  agreeing  with  many  MSS.  and 
Versions,  recognises  three  classes  of  hearers  besides  the 
Jews  ;  whereas  the  Approved  Text,  resting  on  the  great 
MSS.,  unites  the  "God-fearing"  and  "the  Greeks"  into 
the  single  class  "God-fearing  Greeks".  In  this  case 
many  reasons  combine  to  show  the  error  of  the  latter 
reading,  and  the  falseness  of  the  principle  that  has  led 
Tischendorf,  Westcott  and  Hort,  and  others  to  set  almost 
boundless  confidence  in  those  MSS.  (see  note  2,  p.  235). 

In  V.  4  Paul  goes  on  to  a  wider  sphere  of  influence  than 
the  circle  of  the  synagogue  ;  and  a  lapse  of  time  is 
implied  in  the  extension  of  his  work  over  the  general 
population  of  the  city  (called  here  by  the  strictly  correct 
term,  Hellenes).  Between  the  two  opposite  groups,  the 
Jews  and  the  Hellenes,  there  is  interposed  the  inter- 
mediate class  of  God-fearing  proselytes ;  and  there  is 
added  as  a  climax  a  group  of  noble  ladies  of  the  city. 
In  Macedonia,  as  in  Asia  Minor,  women  occupied  a  much 
freer  and  more  influential  position  than  in  Athens  ;  and  it 
is  in  conformity  with  the  known  facts  that  such  pro- 
minence is  assigned  to  them  in  the  three  Macedonian 
cities. 

in  this  journey  a  more  pointed  distinction  than  before 
between  the  short  period  of  synagogue  work,  and  the 
longer  period    of  general    work,    may   be    noticed.      The 

yvva<.K<Jiv  re  rmv  i^poirmv  ovk  oXi'yni,  approximating  to  the  Bezan  Text, 
and  to  that  of  the  inferior  MSS.  followed  in  the  Authorised 
Vers'o 


2  28  The  Churches  of  Macedonia.         Chap.  X. 

three  Sabbaths  of  v.  2  must  be  taken  as  the  entire  period 
of  work  within  the  circle  of  the  synagogue ;  and  the 
precise  statement  of  time  may  also  be  taken  as  an 
indication  that  the  usual  quarrel  with  the  Jews  took 
place  earlier  at  Thessalonica  than  in  former  cases. 

That  a  considerable  time  was  spent  in  the  M^'der  work 
is  proved  both  by  its  success,   and    by    the    language    of 
1    Thess.  I,  II,   which    cannot    reasonably    refer    only    to 
work  in  the  synagogue    or    to    a    short    missionary  work 
among   the    general    population.     Paul    clearly    refers    to 
a  long  and  very  successful    work    in    Thessalonica.     His 
eagerness   to    return,    and    his    chafing    at    the    ingenious 
obstacle  preventing  him,  are  explained    by    his    success  : 
he    was    always    eager    to    take    advantage    of    a    good 
opening.      Further    Paul    mentions   that   the    Philippians, 
IV   i6,   "sent   once   and    again   unto  my  need   in    Thes- 
salonica ".      It  is  reasonable  to  think  that  some  interval 
elapsed  between  the  gifts  (especially  as  Paul  had  to  work 
to  maintain   himself,   I    Thess.   II  9).      Dec.  50 — May  51 
seems  a  probable  estimate  of  the  residence  in  Thessalonica. 
7.  THE  RIOT  AT  THESSALONICA.     (XVII  5)  AND  THE 
JEWS   BECAME  JEALOUS  ;    AND    WITH     SOME     WORTHLESS 
ASSOCIATES   OF   THE   LOWER   ORDERS   THEY  GATHERED  A 
MOB   AND   MADE   A   RIOT  ;  AND,  ASSAULTING  THE   HOUSE 
OF    JASON,    THEY    SOUGHT     TO    BRING    Paul    and    Silas 
BEFORE     A     PUBLIC     MEETING.        (6)    AND     WHEN     THEY 
FOUND    THEM    NOT,   THEY    BEGAN    TO   DRAG  JASON   AND 
CERTAIN    BRETHREN    BEFORE    THE    POLITARCHS,   SHOUT- 
ING, "  THESE  THAT  HAVE  TURNED  THE  CIVILISED  WORLD 
UPSIDE  DOWN    HAVE  COME    HITHER  ALSO,  (7)  AND  JASON 
HATH    RECEIVED     THEM  ;     AND    THE    WHOLE     OF    THEM 
ARE    VIOLATING   THE    IMPERIAL   LAWS,   ASSERTING   THAT 


Sec.  7.  The  Riot  at  Thessalonica.  229 


THERE  IS  ANOTHER  EMPEROR,  JESUS  ".  (8)  AND  THEY 
TROUBLED  THE  PEOPLE  AND  THE  POLITARCHS,  WHO 
HEARD  THIS.  (9)  AND  THE  POLITARCHS  TOOK  SECURI- 
TIES FOR  GOOD  BEHAVIOUR  FROM  JASON  AND  THE 
OTHERS,   AND   LET  THEM  GO. 

The  description  of  this  riot  is  more  detailed  than  any 
of  the  preceding.  The  lower  classes,  the  least  educated, 
and  the  most  enslaved  to  paganism  on  its  vulgarest  and 
most  superstitious  side,  were  the  most  fanatical  opponents 
of  the  new  teaching  ;  while  the  politarchs  were  by  no 
means  inclined  to  take  active  measures  against  it,  and  the 
better  educated  people  seem  to  have  supplied  most  of 
the  converts.  Men  of  all  classes  were  impressed  by  the 
preaching  of  Paul,  but  only  women  of  the  leading 
families  ;  and  the  difference  is  obviously  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  poorer  women  were  most  likely  to  be  under  the 
sway  of  superstition.  A  similar  distinction  is  mentioned 
at  Bercea  (XVII  12),  where  not  a  few  of  the  high-born 
Greek  ladies  and  of  the  male  population  in  general  were 
attracted  by  the  new  teaching. 

It  would  appear  that  this  riot  was  more  serious  than 
the  words  of  Luke  would  at  first  sight  suggest.  The 
language  of  Paul  in  his  first  letter  to  the  Thessalonians, 
II  14-16,  shows  that  a  powerful,  dangerous,  and  lasting 
sentiment   was    roused    among    the    classes    which    made 

the  riot. 

The  charge  brought  against  Paul  was  subtly  conceived 
and  most  dangerous.  The  very  suggestion  of  treason 
"  against  the  Emperors  often  proved  fatal  to  the  accused  ; 
and  it  compelled  the  politarchs  to  take  steps,  for,  if  they 
failed  to  do  so,  they  became  exposed  to  a  charge  of 
treason,  as  having  taken  too  little  care  for  the  honour  of 


230  TJie  Churches  of  Macedonia.         Chap.  X. 

the  Emperor.     Many  a  man  was  ruined  by  such  a  charge 
under  the  earlier  Emperors. 

The  step  taken  by  the  politarchs  was  the  mildest 
that  was  prudent  in  the  circumstances  :  they  bound 
the  accused  over  in  security  that  peace  should  be  kept. 
This  was  a  penalty  familiar  in  Roman  law,  from  which 
it  must  have  been  adopted  in  the  ordinary  practice  of 
provincial  towns  like  Thessalonica. 

Paul  evidently  felt  very  deeply  his  sudden  and  pre- 
mature separation  from  the  Church  of  Thessalonica  :  it 
was  at  once  so  promising  and  so  inexperienced,  that 
he  was  unusually  eager  to  return  to  it  ;  and  as  he 
says,  "  we  endeavoured  the  more  exceedingly  to  see 
your  face  with  great  desire  ;  because  we  would  fain 
have  come  to  you,  I  Paul  once  and  again  ;  and  Satan 
hindered  us ".  What  is  the  meaning  of  the  strange 
expression,  "Satan  hindered  us"?  How  did  Paul,  who 
was  so  eager  to  go  back  to  Thessalonica,  find  an  insur- 
mountable obstacle  in  his  way?  Was  it  mere  personal 
danger  that  prevented  him,  or  was  it  some  more  subtle 
device  of  Satanic  craft  that  kept  him  out  of  Thessalonica  ? 

It  is  not  in  keeping  with  Paul's  language  to  interpret 
"Satan"  in  this  case  as  the  mob,  which  had  brought 
him  into  danger  and  was  still  enraged  against  him. 
He  alludes  by  a  very  different  metaphor  to  the  opposi- 
tion which  he  often  experienced  from  the  vulgar,  unedu- 
cated, and  grossly  superstitious  city  populace.  In  I 
Cor.  XV  32  he  describes  his  relations  with  the  Ephesian 
mob  as  "  fighting  with  beasts  ".  This  term  is  an  interest- 
ing mixture  of  Greek  and  Roman  ideas,  and  corresponds 
well  to  Paul's  mixed  education,  as  a  Roman  citizen  in 
a    Greek    philosopher's     lecture-room.       In    the    lecture- 


Sec.  7.  The  Riot  at   Thessalonica.  231 

room  he  became  familiar  with  the  Platonic  comparison 
of  the  mob  to  a  dangerous  beast ;  and  amid  the  surround- 
ings of  the  Roman  Empire  he  became  familiar  with  the 
death-struggle  of  criminals  against  the  wild  beasts  of 
the  circus.  But  a  person  who  designates  the  mob  in 
this  contemptuous  way,  uses  the  term  "  Satan  "  only  of 
some  more  subtle  and  dangerous  enemy,  far  harder  to 
overcome. 

Now,  security  against  any  disturbance  of  the  peace  had 
been  exacted  from  Jason  and  his  associates,  the  leading 
Christians  of  Thessalonica  ;  and  clearly  this  implied  that 
they  were  bound  over  to  prevent  the  cause  of  disturbance, 
Paul,  from  coming  to  Thessalonica.  This  ingenious  device 
put  an  impassable  chasm  between  Paul  and  the  Thes- 
salonians  (iviKoyjrep  is  the  strong  term  used).  So  long 
as  the  magistrates  maintained  this  attitude,  he  could 
not  return  :  he  was  helpless,  and  Satan  had  power.  His 
only  hope  lay  in  an  alteration  of  the  magistrates'  policy. 
They  would  not  be  long  in  power ;  and  perhaps  their 
successors  might  act  differently.  But  the  politarchs 
doubtless  thought  that  they  treated  the  case  mildly  and 
yet  effectually ;  they  got  rid  of  the  cause,  without 
inflicting  any  punishment  on  any  person. 

This  interpretation  of  the  term  "  Satan,"  as  denoting 
action  taken  by  the  governing  power  against  the  message 
from  God,  is  in  keeping  with  the  figurative  use  of  the 
word  throughout  the  New  Testament. 

8.  BERCEA.  (XVII  lO)  AND  THE  BRETHREN  IM- 
MEDIATELY SENT  AWAY  PAUL  AND  SILAS  BY  NIGHT 
UNTO  BERCEA  ;  AND  WHEN  THEY  WERE  COME  HITHER 
THEY  WENT  INTO  THE  SYNAGOGUE  OF  THE  JEWS. 
(11)   NOW   THESE   WERE   MORE    NOBLE     THAN     THOSE    IN 


232  The  Churches  of  Macedonia.         Chap.  X. 

THESSALONICA,  IN  THAT  THEY  RECEIVED  THE  WORD 
WITH  ALL  READINESS  OF  MIND,  EXAMINING  THE  SCRIP- 
TURES DAILY  WHETHER  THESE  THINGS  WERE  SO.  (12) 
MANY  OF  THEM  THEREFORE  BELIEVED  ;  AS  DID  ALSO 
NOT  A  FEW  OF  THE  HIGH-EORN  GREEK  LADIES  AND 
OF  THE  MALE  POPULATION.  (13)  BUT  WHEN  THE 
JEWS  OF  THESSALONICA  LEARNED  THAT  IN  BERCEA 
ALSO  THE  WORD  OF  GOD  WAS  PREACHED  BY  PAUL, 
THEY  CAME  THERE  ALSO  EXCITING  AND  DISTURBING 
THE  MULTITUDES.  (14)  THEN  FORTHWITH  PAUL  WAS 
SENT  FORTH  BY  THE  BRETHREN  TO  GO  TOWARDS  THE 
SEA  ;  BUT  SILAS  AND  TIMOTHY  REMAINED  THERE. 
(15)  AND  THEY  THAT  CONDUCTED  PAUL  BROUGHT 
HIM  AS  FAR  AS  ATHENS  ;  AND  RECEIVING  DIRECTIONS 
FOR  SILAS  AND  TIMOTHY  THAT  THEY  SHOULD  COME 
TO   HIM   WITH   ALL   SPEED,    THEY  DEPARTED, 

Here,  just  as  at  Thessalonica,  a  wider  influence  than 
the  circle  of  the  synagogue  is  distinctly  implied,  v.  12, 
so  that  we  must  understand  that  Paul  preached  also  to 
the  Greek  population.  The  nobler  conduct  of  the 
Beroean  Jews  consisted  in  their  freedom  from  that 
jealousy,  which  made  the  Jews  in  Thessalonica  and 
many  other  places  enraged  when  the  offer  of  salvation 
was  made  as  freely  to  others  as  to  themselves. 

The  process  that  compelled  Paul's  departure  from 
Beroea  was  evidently  quite  similar  to  that  at  Thessalonica  ; 
and  probabl)^  that  is  the  reason  why  the  riot  and  the 
accusation  of  treason  against  the  Emperor  are  not 
mentioned  more  particularly  (p.  72).  As  usual,  we 
notice  how  lightly  Luke  passes  over  the  difficulties  and 
dangers  which  drove  Paul  from  place  to  place. 

In  v.\^  we  must  understand  that  Silas  and  Timothy 


Sec.  8.  Beroea. 


■00 


obeyed  the  directions,  and  came  on  to  rejoin  Paul. 
There  is  no  point  in  mentioning  such  an  order,  unless  it 
were  obeyed.  It  is  in  the  style  of  Luke  to  mention  an 
intention  and  leave  the  reader  to  gather  that  it  was 
carried  into  effect  (p.  i8i).  Moreover,  we  learn  from 
I  Thess.  Ill  I  that  Timothy  was  sent  by  Paul  away  from 
Athens  to  Thessalonica,  which  implies  that  he  rejoined 
him.  It  is  undeniable  that  the  statement  in  XVIII  5, 
"  when  Silas  and  Timothy  came  down  from  Macedonia," 
seems  at  first  sight  to  imply  that  they  arrived  from 
Beroea  only  after  Paul  had  left  Athens,  and  followed  him 
on  to  Corinth,  and  met  him  there  for  the  first  time  since 
his  departure  from  Beroea.  But  the  calculation  of  time 
shows  that  that  could  hardly  be  the  case  :  it  would  not 
take  nearly  so  long  to  perform  the  journey,  and  we 
shall  see  that  Silas  and  Timothy  rejoined  Paul  in 
Corinth  after  a  mission  from  Athens  to  Thessalonica 
and  Philippi  (p.  241).  In  that  case  the  narrative  is  very 
awkward  and  badly  constructed ;  and  we  can  hardly 
suppose  that  it  has  received  the  final  touches  from  the 
author's  hand.  It  is  not  unnatural  that  the  Philippian 
author,  writing  about  facts  with  which  he  and  his 
nearest  audience  were  specially  familiar,  and  making  his 
narrative  as  brief  as  possible,  should  have  omitted  to 
mention  the  mission  from  Athens  to  Macedonia.  But 
it  is  probable  that,  if  he  had  lived  to  put  the  finishing 
touch  to  his  work,  he  would  not  have  left  this 
awkwardness. 

Another  possible  indication  of  incompleteness  is  the 
omission  of  the  harbour  of  Beroea,  a  unique  omission 
in  this  history  (p.  70). 

The  question  naturally   occurs,  why   did    Paul   go    on 


234  The  Churches  of  Macedonia.         Chap.  X. 

from  Beroea  alone,  leaving  Silas  and  Timothy  behind, 
and  yet  send  orders  immediately  on  reaching  Athens 
that  they  were  to  join  him  with  all  speed  ?  There  seems 
at  first  sight  some  inconsistency  here.  But  again  com- 
parison between  Acts  and  TJiess.  solves  the  difficulty. 
Paul  was  eager  "  once  and  again "  to  return  to 
Thessalonica ;  and  was  waiting  for  news  that  the 
impediment  placed  in  his  way  was  removed.  Silas  and 
Timothy  remained  to  receive  the  news  (perhaps  about 
the  attitude  of  new  magistrates)  ;  and  to  bring  it  on  to 
Paul.  But  they  could  not  bring  it  on  to  him  until  they 
received  his  message  from  Athens ;  Paul  left  Beroea 
with  no  fixed  plan,  "  sent  forth  by  the  brethren  to  go  to 
the  coast,"  and  the  further  journey  to  Athens  was  resolved 
on  at  the  harbour. 

We  must  allow  several  months  for  the  residence  at 
Beroea,  with  the  preaching  in  the  synagogue  and  the  city, 
and  the  riot.  Paul  must  have  reached  Athens  some  time 
in  August  51,  as  is  shown  by  the  dates  of  his  residence 
in  Corinth  (p.  264). 

There  is  an  interesting  addition  made  to  the  Bezan 
Text  Q>{  V.  15  :  "and  they  which  conducted  Paul  brought 
him  as  far  as  Athens;  [and  he  neglected  Thessalia,  for 
he  was  prevented  from  preaching  the  word  unto  them]  ". 
Here  we  meet  a  difficult  question  in  provincial  bounds. 
Where  should  Paul  go  from  Beroea?  The  one  thing 
clear  to  him  was  that  he  was  called  to  Macedonia.  If 
Thessaly   was   part   of    that    province,^   Larissa   was    the 

^  Ptolemy  gives  Thessaly  to  Macedonia,  Strabo  to  Achaia  (for  we 
cannot  accept  Mommsen's  interpretation  of  Strab.  p.  840,  making 
Thessaly  always  Macedonian  ;  cp.  Strab.  p.  576) :  at  some  unknown 
time  Thessaly  was  separated  from  Achaia  (Brandis  thinks  by  Pius, 
Marquardt  by  Vespasian,  but  perhaps  44  may  have  been  the  time). 


Sec.  8.  Bercea.  235 

natural   completion   of    his    Macedonian   work;    and   we 
could  readily  believe  that  he  thought  of  it  and  was  pre- 
vented by  a  revelation.     But,  in  that  case,  why  is  "the 
revelation"  left  out?     Such  an  omission  is  unique  in  Acts. 
On  the  other  hand,  if  Thessaly  was  part  of  Achaia,  Paul 
could  not  think  at  that  time  of  beginning  work  in  a  new 
province.      In    Athens    he   was    merely   waiting   for   the 
chance   of  returning   to   Thessalonica   (p.   240).     But,   in 
that  case,  we  might  understand,  "he  was   prevented    (by 
the   call   restricting   him   to    Macedonia)".      Perhaps   the 
Reviser,  having  eliminated  nraprjkeev  from  XVI  8,  thought 
that  XVII   15  was  a  suitable  place  for  the  idea,  which  he 
wished  to  preserve. 

Note  I.    The  Place  of  Prayer  at  PhilippL     We   take 
our   stand   upon  the   fact   that   the    Bezan  Text,  "  where 
there   seemed    to   be   a   prayer-place"    (eSo/cet    irpoaevxv 
elvat),  appears  to  be  an  explanation  of  our  text  {ii^ofii^ero 
Trpoaevxn  ^'^«0  :   it  is  therefore  clear  that  in  the  middle 
of  the  second  century  our  text  was  read,  and  was  found 
difficult     and   was    misunderstood    to   mean   "there   was 
though!  to   be    a    prayer-place ".       This    misunderstand- 
ing  led   to   other  attempts    at   correction,   one   of  which 
appears  in  the  great  MSS.   {iuofMi^ofiev  -Kpoaevxhv  ehac). 
Note   2.    The   Synagogue    at    Thessalonica.      The    true 
reading  of  XVII  4  results  from  a  comparison  of  A  with 
D.     The  reading   of  the   great   MSS.   is   impossible   for 
these   reasons:    (i)    It   restricts    Paul's  converts  to   Jews 
proselyte  Greeks,  and  a  few  ladies,  taking   no   notice  of 
any  work  outside  the  circle  of  the  s)-nagogue.     I   Thess. 
drives  the  impression  that  converts  direct  from  heathenism 
were  the  mass  of  the  Church.     (2)   It  restricts  Paul's  work 


236  The  Churches  of  Macedonia.         Chap.  X. 

to  three  Sabbaths,  which  is  opposed  to  all  rational  pro- 
bability, to  Thess.  and  to  Phil. ;  whereas  our  text  restricts 
the  work  within  the  circle  of  the  synagogue  to  three 
Sabbaths,  but  adds  a  second  stage  much  more  important, 
when  a  great  multitude  of  the  general  population  of  the 
city  was  affected.  (3)  The  contrast  drawn  between  the 
Jews  of  Beroea  and  of  Thessalonica,  v.  11,  is  very  unfair 
to  the  latter,  if,  as  the  great  MSS.  put  it,  three  Sabbaths 
produced  such  vast  effect  within  the  circle  of  the  syna- 
gogue. (4)  That  reading  speaks  of  "a  great  multitude 
of  God-fearing  Greeks,"  implying  that  the  synagogue  had 
exercised  an  astonishing  influence  on  the  population. 
Lightfoot  quotes  the  fact  that  Salonica  is  still  mainly  a 
Jewish  city,  as  a  proof  that  Judaism  gained  and  kept  a 
strong  hold  on  the  city  throughout  Christian  history ;  but 
a  visit  to  Salonica  would  have  saved  him  from  this  error. 
The  Jews  of  Salonica  speak  Spanish  as  their  language, 
and  are  descended  from  Spanish  Jews,  expelled  by 
Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  who  found  in  Turkey  a  refuge 
denied  or  grudged  them  in  most  European  countries. 
There  is  no  reason  known  to  me  for  thinking  that  Judaism 
was  strong  in  the  city  under  the  Byzantine  Empire ;  and 
the  strong  antipathy  of  the  Greeks  to  the  Jews  makes  it 
improbable.  The  Thessalonian  Jews  were  protected  by 
the  Roman  government ;  but  one  may  doubt  if  they 
maintained  their  ground  under  the  Christian  Empire. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

ATHENS   AND    CORINTH. 

I.ATHENS.  (XVn  l6)  NOW  WHILE  PAUL  WAS  WAIT- 
ING FOR  THEM  IN  ATHENS,  HIS  SOUL  WAS  PROVOKED 
WITHIN  HIM  AS  HE  BEHELD  THE  CITY  FULL  OF  IDOLS. 
(17)  SO  HE  REASONED  IN  THE  SYNAGOGUE  WITH  THE 
JEWS  AND  THE  PROSELYTES,  AND  IN  THE  MARKET- 
PLACE EVERY  DAY  WITH  CHANCE  COMERS.  .  .  .  (23) 
"AS  I  WENT  THROUGH  THE  CITY  SURVEYING  THE 
MONUMENTS  OF  YOUR  RELIGION,  I  FOUND  ALSO  AN 
ALTAR     WITH     THIS      INSCRIPTION      'TO      UNKNOWN 

GOD'." 

The  picture  of  Paul  in  Athens,  which  is  given  in  the 
ensuing  scene,  is  very  characteristic  of  Athenian  life. 
Luke  places  before  us  the  man  who  became  "  all  things 
to  all  men,"  and  who  therefore  in  Athens  made  himself 
like  an  Athenian  and  adopted  the  regular  Socratic  style 
of  general  free  discussion  in  the  agora ;  and  he  shows 
him  to  us  in  an  atmosphere  and  a  light  which  are 
thoroughly  Attic  in  their  clearness,  delicacy,  and  charm. 

It  is  evident  from  v.  23,  and  our  conception  of  Paul's 
character  forces  the  same  view  on  us,  that  he  was  not 
indifferent  even  to  the  "sights"  of  the  great  university 
city  of  the  world,  which  united  in  itself  so  many  memorials 
of  history  and  of  education.     The  feeHngs  which  would 

(237) 


2  ;8  Athens  and  Coi'inth.  Chap.  XI. 


rise  in  the  mind  of  an  American  scholar  from  Harvard, 
seeing  Oxford  for  the  first  time,  were  not  alien  to  Paul's 
spirit.  The  mere  Jew  could  never  have  assumed  the 
Attic  tone  as  Paul  did.  He  was  in  Athens  the  student  of 
a  great  university,  visiting  an  older  but  yet  a  kindred 
university,  surveying  it  with  appreciative  admiration,  and 
mixing  in  its  society  as  an  equal  conversing  with  men  of 
like  education. 

This  extraordinary  versatility  in  Paul's  character,  the 
unequalled  freedom  and  ease  with  which  he  moved  in 
every  society,  and  addressed  so  many  races  within  the 
Roman  world,  were  evidently  appreciated  by  the  man 
who  wrote  this  narrative,  for  the  rest  of  Chapter  XVH  is 
as  different  in  tone  from  XHI  as  Athens  is  different  from 
Phrygia.  Only  a  writer  who  was  in  perfect  sympathy 
with  his  subject  could  adapt  his  tone  to  it  so  perfectly  as 
Luke  does.  In  Ephesus  Paul  taught  "in  the  school  of 
Tyrannus "  ;  in  the  city  of  Socrates  he  discussed  moral 
questions  in  the  market-place.  How  incongruous  it  would 
seem  if  the  methods  were  transposed  !  But  the  narrative 
never  makes  a  false  step  amid  all  the  many  details,  as  the 
scene  changes  from  city  to  city  ;  and  that  is  the  conclusive 
proof  that  it  is  a  picture  of  real  life. 

Athens  in  Paul's  time  was  no  longer  the  Athens  of 
Socrates  ;  but  the  Socratic  method  had  its  roots  in  the 
soil  of  Attica  and  the  nature  of  the  Athenian  people.  In 
Athens  Socrates  can  never  quite  die,  and  his  spirit 
was  in  Paul's  time  still  among  the  people,  though  the 
learned  lecturers  of  the  university  felt  already  the  coming 
spirit  of  Herodes  Atticus  more  congenial  to  them.  Among 
the  people  in  the  agora,  then,  Paul  reasoned  in  the 
Socratic  fashion  ;  but  when  the  Professors  came  upon  the 


Sec.  I.  Athens. 


239 


scene,  they  soon  demanded  of  him  a  display  in  the  style  of 
the  rhetorician. 

As  Paul  wandered  through  Athens,  the  interest  in  its 
monuments  and  its  university  was  soon  overpowered  by 
the  indignation  roused  by  the  idols  with  which  it  was 
crowded.  In  this  centre  of  the  world's  education,  amid 
the  lecture-rooms  where  philosophers  had  taught  for 
centuries  that  it  was  mere  superstition  to  confuse  the 
idol  with  the  divine  nature  which  it  represented,  the 
idols  were  probably  in  greater  numbers  than  anywhere 
else  in  Paul's  experience.  Though  he  was  only  waiting 
for  the  message  to  go  back  to  Thessalonica,  and  resume 
the  work  in  Macedonia  to  which  he  had  been  called,  )'et 
indignation  would  not  let  him  keep  silence  during  the 
short  stay  which  he  anticipated  in  Athens.  He  began  to 
discourse  in  the  synagogue,  and  to  hold  Socratic  dialogue 
in  the  agora  with  any  one  whom  he  met. 

Here  we  observe  the  same  double  mission  as  in  Beroea, 
Thessalonica,  and  elsewhere ;  and,  as  in  other  cases,  the 
Jewish  mission  is  mentioned  first.  There  is  one  marked 
difference  between  this  passage  and  the  corresponding 
descriptions  at  Beroea  and  Thessalonica.  In  those  cases 
great  results  were  attained  ;  but  in  Athens  no  converts 
are  mentioned  at  this  stage,  either  in  the  synagogue  or 
in  the  agora.  The  lack  of  results  at  this  stage  is,  how- 
ever, fully  explained  by  the  shortness  of  the  time.  Paul's 
stay  in  Athens  can  hardly  have  been  longer  than  six 
weeks,  and  was  probably  less  than  four ;  and  the  process 
described  in  v.  17  was  brought  to  a  premature  close  by 
the  great  event  of  his  visit,  which  the  historian  describes 
very  fully. 

The  time   spent  in  Athens  may  be  deduced  approxi- 


240  Athens  and  Corinth.  Chap.  XI. 

mately  from  the  following  considerations.  Probably 
less  than  a  fortnight  elapsed  before  Silas  and  Timothy 
joined  him  there,  according  to  his  urgent  directions. 
They  brought  with  them  no  favourable  news :  it  was  still 
impossible  for  him  to  return  to  Thessalonica,  and  he 
"thought  it  good  to  be  left  in  Athens  alone,  and  sent 
Timothy  to  comfort  the  Thessalonians  concerning  their 
faith"  (I   Thess.  Ill   i,  2). 

Since  Paul  remained  alone,  Silas  also  must  have  been 
sent  away  from  Athens  ;  and  as,  some  two  months  later, 
Silas  with  Timothy  rejoined  Paul  from  Macedonia,  he 
was  probably  sent  to  Philippi,  for  frequent  communication 
was  maintained  at  this  time  between  Paul  and  his  first 
European  Church  {Phil.  IV  15  f ). 

Paul  was  still  looking  forward  to  a  return  to  his  proper 
work  in  Macedonia  ;  and  it  is  clear  that  he  intended  to 
remain  in  Athens  until  Silas  and  Timothy  came  back 
from  their  mission,  w^hich  makes  it  probable  that  their 
absence  was  not  intended  to  be  a  long  one.  Doubtless 
they  travelled  to  Thessalonica  together,  and  Timothy 
waited  there  while  Silas  went  to  Philippi,  discharged  his 
mission,  and  returned  ;  and  then  they  came  to  Athens 
together.  They  found  Paul  no  longer  there,  for  he  had 
in  the  meantime  gone  to  Corinth.  Circumstances  that 
happened  in  Athens  had  forced  him  to  abandon  the  city 
and  go  to  Corinth :  "  after  this  he  departed  from  Athens 
and  came  to  Corinth"  (XVIII  i).  In  this  sentence  it 
might  seem  that  the  words  "  departed  from  Athens  "  are 
wasted  ;  and  that  it  would  have  been  sufficient  to  say 
"  after  this  he  came  to  Corinth "  ;  but  our  principle  is 
that  every  minute  fact  stated  in  Acts  has  its  own 
significance,  and  the  departure  from  Athens  {ywpiaQ^X'i  eK 


Sec.  I.  Athens. 


241 


Twv  ^Adijvojv)   is   emphasised,    because  it  was  a  violation 
of  the  intended  plan  under  the  compulsion  of  events. 

The  same  word  is  used  in  XVIII  i  to  describe  Paul's 
departure  from  Athens,  and  in  2  to  describe  Aquila's 
enforced  departure  from  Rome.  On  our  view  (p.  252) 
the  idea  of  sudden,  premature  departure  is  contained  in 
each. 

Further,  it  is  clear  that  Paul  had  been  in  Corinth  for 
some  time  and  attained  a  certain  measure  of  success, 
before  Silas  and  Timothy  arrived  ;  and,  if  we  allow  seven 
weeks  for  their  mission,  which  seems  ample,  he  must 
have  spent  altogether  about  three  or  four  weeks  in  Athens 
and  five  or  six  in  Corinth, 

2.  IN  THE  UNIVERSITY  AT  ATHENS.  (XVII 
18)  AND  CERTAIN  ALSO  OF  THE  STOIC  AND  EPICUREAN 
PHILOSOPHERS  ENGAGED  IN  DISCUSSIONS  WITH  HIM  ; 
AND  SOME  SAID,  "WHAT  WOULD  THIS  SPERMOLOGOS 
[ignorant  plagiarist]  SAY  ? "  AND  OTHERS,  "  HE  IS 
APPARENTLY  AN  EXPONENT  OF  FOREIGN  DIVINITIES  '* 
[because  HE  WAS  GIVING  THE  GOOD  NEWS  OF 
**  JESUS"  AND  "RESURRECTION"].  (19)  AND  THEY 
TOOK  HOLD  OF  HIM  AND  BROUGHT  HIM  BEFORE  THE 
Council  of  AREOPAGUS,  SAYING,  "  MAY  WE  LEARN 
WHAT  IS  THIS  NEW  TEACHING  WHICH  IS  SPOKEN  BY 
THEE?  (20)  FOR  THOU  BRINGEST  SOME  THINGS  OF 
FOREIGN  FASHION  TO  OUR  EARS  ;  WE  WISH  THERE- 
FORE TO  LEARN  WHAT  IS  THEIR  NATURE."  (21)  BUT 
THE  WHOLE  crowd  of  ATHENIANS  AND  RESIDENT 
STRANGERS  who  formed  the  audiejice  WERE  INTER- 
ESTED ONLY  IN  SAYING  OR  HEARING  SOMETHING 
NEW     and     smart.       (22)     AND     PAUL     STOOD     IN     THE 

MIDST    OF    THE    Council  of  AREOPAGUS   AND   SAID    .    .    . 

16 


242  Athens  and  Corinth.  Chap.  XI. 

{y^  THUS  PAUL  WENT  FORTH  FROM  THE  MIDST  OF 
THEM. 

The  explanatory  clause  \n  v.  18  is  wanting  in  the  Bezan 
Text  and  an  old  Latin  Version,  and  is  foreign  to  Luke's 
fashion  of  leaving  the  reader  to  form  his  own  ideas  with 
regard  to  the  scene.  It  is  apparently  a  gloss,  suggested 
by  V.  32,  which  found  its  way  into  the  text  of  almost  all 
MSS. 

The  different  opinions  of  the  philosophers  in  v.  18 
are  purposely  placed  side  by  side  with  a  touch  of  gentle 
sarcasm  on  their  inability,  with  all  their  acuteness,  to  agree 
in  any  opinion  even  about  Paul's  meaning.  The  first 
opinion  is  the  most  interesting.  It  contains  a  word  of 
characteristically  Athenian  slang,  Spermologos,  and  is 
clearly  caught  from  the  very  lips  of  the  Athenians  (as 
Dr.  Blass  happily  puts  it).  This  term  was  used  in  two 
senses — (i)  a  small  bird  that  picks  up  seeds  for  its  food, 
and  (2)  a  worthless  fellow  of  low  class  and  vulgar  habits, 
•with  the  insinuation  that  he  lives  at  the  expense  of  others, 
like  those  disreputable  persons  who  hang  round  the 
markets  and  the  quays  in  order  to  pick  up  anything 
that  falls  from  the  loads  that  are  carried  about.  Hence, 
as  a  term  in  social  slang,  it  connotes  absolute  vulgarity 
and  inability  to  rise  above  the  most  contemptible 
standard  of  life  and  conduct  ;  it  is  often  connected  with 
slave  life,  for  the  Sperniologos  was  near  the  type  of  the 
slave  and  below  the  level  of  the  free  man  ;  and  there 
clings  to  it  the  suggestion  of  picking  up  refuse  and  scraps, 
and  in  literature  of  plagiarism  without  the  capacity  to  use 
correctly.  In  ancient  literature  plagiarism  was  not 
disapproved  of  when  it  was  done  with  skill,  and  when  the 
idea  or  words  taken  from  another  were  used  with  success  : 


Sec.  2.  In  the  Univej'sity  at  Athens.  243 

the  literary  offence  lay  in  the  ignorance  and  incapacity 
displayed  when  stolen  knowledge  was  improperly  applied. 

To  appreciate  fully  a  term  of  social  slang  requires  the 
greatest  effort  to  sympathise  with  and  recreate  the  actual 
life  of  the  people  who  used  the  term.  Probably  the  nearest 
and  most  instructive  parallel  in  modern  English  life  to 
Spennologos  is  "  Bounder,"  allowing  for  the  difference  be- 
tween England  and  Athens,  In  both  there  lies  the  idea 
of  one  who  is  "out  of  the  swim,"  out  of  the  inner  circle, 
one  who  lacks  that  thorough  knowledge  and  practice  in 
the  rules  of  the  game  that  mould  the  whole  character  and 
make  it  one's  nature  to  act  in  the  proper  way  and  play 
the  game  fair.  The  English  term  might  be  applied  to  a 
candidate  for  a  professorship,  whose  life  and  circumstances 
had  lain  in  a  different  line  and  who  wanted  knowledge 
and  familiarity  with  the  subject ;  and  that  is  the  way  in 
which  St.  Paul  is  here  called  a  Spennologos,  as  one  who 
aped  the  ways  and  words  of  philosophers.  Dean  Farrar's 
rendering,  "  picker-up  of  learning's  crumbs,"  is  happy,  but 
loses  the  touch  of  slang. 

The  general  tendency  of  recent  opinion  is  that  Paul 
was  taken  to  the  Hill  of  Ares,  in  order  to  give  an  address 
in  quiet  surroundings  to  a  crowd  of  Athenians  on  the  spot 
where  the  Council  that  derived  its  name  from  the  hill  sat 
to  hold  solemn  trials  for  murder ;  and  the  view  taken 
in  the  Authorised  Version  and  the  ancient  authorities, 
such  as  Chrysostom  and  Theophylact,  that  Paul  was 
subjected  to  a  trial  before  the  Council,  is  rejected  on  the 
ground  that  in  the  proceedings  there  is  nothing  of  a 
judicial  type,  no  accuser,  no  accusation,  and  no  defensive 
character  in  Paul's  speech,  which  is  addressed  not  to  a 
court  but  to  a  general  Athenian  audience.     These  reasons 


244  Athens  and  Corinth.  Chap,  XI. 

quite  disprov^e  the  view  that  the  scene  described  in  vv. 
19-34  was  a  trial.  But  the  idea  that  the  assembly  of 
Athenians  went  up  to  the  hill-top  as  a  suitable  place  for 
listening  to  an  address  is  even  more  unsatisfactory.  The 
top  of  the  little  hill  is  a  most  unsuitable  place  from  its 
small  size  and  its  exposed  position  ;  and  it  is  quite  out 
of  keeping  with  the  habits  of  the  people  to  go  to  such  a 
place  for  such  a  purpose.  Curtius  has  led  the  way  to  a 
proper  view  of  the  whole  incident,  which  lies  wholly  in  the 
agora. 

Further,  it  is  inconsistent  with  the  patriotism  and  pride 
of  the  Athenians  that  they  should  conduct  a  foreigner 
for  whom  they  expressed  such  contempt  to  the  most 
impressive  seat  of  Athenian  religious  and  national  history, 
in  order  that  he  might  there  talk  to  them.  The  Athenians 
were,  in  many  respects,  flippant ;  but  their  flippancy  was 
combined  with  an  intense  pride  in  the  national  dignity 
and  the  historic  glory  of  the  city,  which  would  have 
revolted  at  such  an  insult  as  that  this  stranger  should 
harangue  them  about  his  foreign  deities  on  the  spot  where 
the  Athenian  elders  had  judged  the  god  Ares  and  the 
hero  Orestes,  where  the  goddess  Athena  had  presided  in 
the  highest  court  of  her  chosen  people,  and  where  still 
judgment  on  the  most  grave  cases  of  homicide  was 
solemnly  pronounced. 

Nor  would  it  be  a  permissible  interpretation  that  a 
small  number  of  philosophic  inquirers  retired  to  this 
quiet  spot  for  unimpeded  discussion.  The  scene  and  the 
speech  breathe  the  spirit  of  the  agora,  and  the  open,  free, 
crowded  life  of  Athens,  not  the  quiet  atmosphere  of  the 
philosophic  study  or  class-room  ;  while  the  tone  of  the 
opinions   expressed    in   v.    18   is   not   one   of  philosophic 


Sec.  2.  In  the   University  at  Athens.  245 

interest  and  careful  discussion,  but  of  contempt,  dislike, 
and  jealousy.  Moreover,  it  would  be  an  insult  to  address 
philosophic  inquirers  in  the  language  of  vv.  22-3,  The 
philosophers  did  not  dedicate  altars  to  an  Unknown  God, 
but  regarded  all  such  proceedings  as  the  mere  superstition 
of  the  vulgar,  Paul's  speech  is  an  exceedingly  skilful  one, 
if  addressed  to  a  popular  audience  ;  but  to  philosophers 
it  would  be  unskilful  and  unsuitable. 

But  the  language  shows  clearly  that  Paul  was  brought 
before  the  Council  and  not  simply  conducted  to  the  Hill. 
He  stood  "  in  the  midst  of  the  Areopagus,"  v.  22,  and 
"  he  went  forth  from  the  midst  of  them  " :  he  that  went 
forth  from  the  midst  of  them  must  have  been  standing  in 
the  midst  of  them.  In  this  scene,  full  of  the  Attic  spirit 
and  containing  typical  words  of  Athenian  slang  like 
Spermologos,  we  require  some  distinctly  Greek  sense  for 
each  detail  ;  and  "  Paul  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  Hill  " 
is  in  Greek  an  absurdity.  He  stood  in  the  middle  of  the 
Council,  a  great  and  noble,  but  not  a  friendly  assembly, 
as  in  IV  7  Peter  stood  "  in  the  midst "  of  the  Sanhedrim  ; 
and  in  Acts  and  the  Gospels  many  similar  expressions 
occur.     (See  note,  p.  260.) 

The  philosophers  took  hold  of  Paul.  When  a  man, 
especially  an  educated  man,  goes  so  far  as  to  lay  his  hands 
on  another,  it  is  obvious  that  his  feelings  must  be  moved  ; 
and  the  word  must  have  some  marked  sense  in  a  writer 
whose  expression  is  so  carefully  studied  as  Luke's.  It 
occurs  as  a  sign  of  friendly  encouragement  to  a  person  in 
a  solitary  and  difficult  position,  IX  27,  XXIII  19;  but 
more  frequently  it  denotes  hostile  action,  as  XXI  30, 
XVIII  17,  XVI  19.  There  must  have  been  some 
stronger     feeling     among    the    philosophers    than     mere 


246  Athens  and  Corinth.  Chap.  XL 

contempt  mingled  with  some  slight  curiosity,  before  they 
actually  placed  their  hands  on  Paul.  Now  they  certainly 
did  not  act  as  his  friends  and  sponsors  in  taking  him 
before  the  Council,  therefore  we  must  understand  that 
they  took  him  there  from  dislike  and  with  malice. 

What  then  was  their  object  ?  Every  attempt  to  explain 
the  scene  as  a  trial  has  failed,  and  must  fail  (p.  243). 
Even  the  idea  of  a  preliminary  inquiry  is  unsuitable  ;  for, 
if  it  were  so,  none  of  the  marked  features  of  the  scene  are 
preserved  in  the  narrative,  which  would  be  contrary  to  our 
experience  in  Luke's  descriptions.  In  estimating  the 
situation,  we  must  remember  that  in  vv.  18,  19,  Paul  is 
among  the  lecturers  and  professors  of  the  university. 
Therein  lies  the  chief  interest  of  the  scene,  which  is  unique 
in  Acts.  We  have  seen  Paul  in  various  situations,  and 
mixing  in  many  phases  of  contemporary  life.  Here 
alone  he  stands  amid  the  surroundings  of  a  great 
university,  disputing  with  its  brilliant  and  learned 
teachers  ;  and  here,  as  in  every  other  situation,  he  adapts 
himself  with  his  usual  versatihty  to  the  surroundings,  and 
moves  in  them  as  to  the  manner  born. 

Two  questions  have  to  be  answered  in  regard  to  the 
scene  that  follows :  why  was  Paul  taken  before  the 
Council  ?  and  what  were  the  intentions  of  the  philosophers 
in  taking  him  there?  It  is  clear  that  Paul  appeared  to 
the  philosophers  as  one  of  the  many  ambitious  teachers 
who  came  to  Athens  hoping  to  find  fame  and  fortune  at 
the  great  centre  of  education.  Now,  certain  powers  were 
vested  in  the  Council  of  Areopagus  to  appoint  or  invite 
lecturers  at  Athens,  and  to  exercise  some  general  control 
over  the  lecturers  in  the  interests  of  public  order  and 
morality.     There  is  an  almost  complete  lack  of  evidence 


Sec.  2.  In  the  University  at  Athens.  247 

what  were  the  advantages  and  the  legal  rights  of  a  lecturer 
thus  appointed,  and  to  what  extent  or  in  what  way  a 
strange  teacher  could  find  freedom  to  lecture  in  Athens. 
There  existed  something  in  the  way  of  privileges 
vested  in  the  recognised  lecturers  ;  for  the  fact  that 
Cicero  induced  the  Areopagus  to  pass  a  decree  inviting 
Cratippus,  the  Peripatetic  philosopher,  to  become  a  lecturer 
in  Athens,  implies  that  some  advantage  was  thereby 
secured  to  him.  There  certainly  also  existed  much 
freedom  for  foreigners  to  become  lecturers  in  Athens,  for 
the  great  majority  of  the  Athenian  professors  and  lecturers 
were  foreign.  The  scene  described  in  vv.  18-34  seems  to 
prove  that  the  recognised  lecturers  could  take  a  strange 
lecturer  before  the  Areopagus,  and  require  him  to  give  an 
account  of  his  teaching  and  pass  a  test  as  to  its  character. 

When  they  took  him  to  the  court  to  satisfy  the  supreme 
university  tribunal  of  his  qualifications,  they  probably  enter- 
tained some  hope  that  he  would  be  overawed  before  that 
august  body,  or  that  his  teaching  might  not  pass  muster, 
as  being  of  unsettling  tendency  (for  no  body  is  so  conser- 
vative as  a  University  Court). 

The  government  in  Greek  cities  exercised  a  good  deal 
of  control  over  the  entire  system  of  education,  both  for 
boys  and  for  young  men,  who  were  trained  in  graduated 
classes  and  passed  on  from  one  to  another  in  regular 
course.  There  is  good  reason  for  thinking  that  in  Athens 
this  control  was  exercised  by  the  Council  of  Areopagus, 
in  the  case  both  of  boys  and  of  young  men  :  it  rises 
naturally  out  of  their  ancient  charge  of  the  manners  and 
morals  of  the  citizens,  of  the  public  hygiene  and  the  state 
physicians,  and  of  offences  against  religious  ritual  (though 
serious   charges    of    impiety   and    of   introducing   foreign 


248  Athens  and  Corinth.  Chap.  XI. 

religion  were  not  tried  before  the  Areopagus  but  before 
the  popular  courts)  ;  and  it  is,  in  ancient  view,  related  to 
the  control  of  peace  and  order  which  they  exercised  in  the 
Roman  period.  Moreover,  Quintilian  mentions  that  the 
Areopagus  punished  a  boy  who  used  to  pluck  out  the  eyes 
of  quails,  which  implies  their  jurisdiction  over  the  young. 

In  the  rhetorical  displays  of  that  period,  the  general 
audience  {corona)  was  an  important  feature.  The  influence 
of  the  audience  is  familiar  to  every  reader  of  the  literature 
of  that  time  ;  and  the  younger  Pliny  says  that  even  the 
lawyers  of  his  time  spoke  more  to  gain  the  approval  and 
applause  of  the  audience  than  to  influence  the  opinion  and 
judgment  of  the  court.  Owing  to  the  difficulty  in 
multiplying  copies  of  literary  productions,  public  opinion 
could  not  be  so  well  appealed  to  or  expressed  in  any  other 
way  ;  and  the  applause  or  disapproval  of  the  circle  of 
hearers  came  to  represent  to  a  great  extent  the  public 
verdict  on  all  intellectual  achievements.  Luke,  therefore, 
could  not  well  omit  the  audience,  even  in  this  brief  account; 
and  he  touches  it  off  in  v.  21,  where  the  force  of  the 
imperfect  tense  is  important :  Luke  is  not  describing  the 
general  character  of  the  Athenian  people  (which  would 
require  a  present  tense) :  he  places  another  element  in  the 
scene  alongside  of  those  already  described.  While  the 
philosophers  insisted  with  some  malevolent  intention  on 
having  a  test  applied,  the  general  crowd  of  Athenians  and 
resident  strangers  were  merely  moved  by  curiosity. 

The  unmistakable  tone  of  contempt  in  the  description 
suits  a  Macedonian  describing  an  Athenian  crowd  (for  the 
two  peoples  always  disliked  and  despised  each  other)  ; 
and  it  is  not  undeserved.  As  Mr.  Capes  says  in  his 
University     Life     in     Ancient     Athens  i       "the     people 


v 

Sec.  2.  In  the   University  at  Athens.  249 


commonly  was  nothing  loath  to  hear  :  they  streamed  as 
to  a  popular  preacher  in  our  own  day,  or  to  an  actor 
starring  in  provincial  towns  :  the  epicures  accepted  the 
invitation  to  the  feast  of  words,  and  hurried  to  the  theatre 
to  judge  as  critics  the  choice  of  images,  and  refinement  of 
the  style,  and  all  the  harmony  of  balanced  periods  ".  As 
Luke  says,  they  were  as  eager  to  make  smart  criticisms  as 
to  listen. 

3.  THE  SPEECH  BEFORE  THE  COUNCIL  OF 
AREOPAGUS.  (XVn  22)  AND  PAUL  STOOD  IN  THE 
MIDST  OF  THE  COUNCIL  AND  SAID,  "YE  MEN  OF 
ATHENS,  IN  ALL  RESPECTS  I  OBSERVE  THAT  YOU  ARE 
MORE  than  Others  RESPECTFUL  OF  WHAT  IS  DIVINE. 
(23)  FOR  AS  I  WAS  GOING  THROUGH  yoiir  city  AND 
SURVEYING  THE  MONUMENTS  OF  YOUR  WORSHIP,  I 
FOUND  ALSO  AN  ALTAR  WITH  THE  INSCRIPTION  TO 
UNKNOWN  GOD.  that  divine  nature,  THEN, 
WHICH  YOU  WORSHIP,  NOT  KNOWING  what  it  is,  I 
AM  SETTING  FORTH  TO  YOU.  (24)  THE  GOD  THAT 
MADE  THE  WORLD  AND  ALL  THINGS  THEREIN,  HE, 
LORD  AS  HE  IS  OF  HEAVEN  AND  EARTH,  DWELLETH 
NOT  IN  SHRINES  MADE  WITH  HANDS,  (25)  AND  IS  NOT 
SERVED  BY  HUMAN  HANDS  AS  THOUGH  HE  NEEDED 
ANYTHING,  SINCE  HE  HIMSELF  GIVETH  TO  ALL  LH'E 
AND  BREATH  AND  ALL  THINGS.  (26)  AND  HE  MADE 
OF  ONE  nature  EVERY  RACE  OF  MEN  TO  DWELL  ON 
ALL  THE  FACE  OF  THE  EARTH  ;  AND  FIXED  DEFINED 
TIMES  AND  BOUNDS  OF  THEIR  HABITATION,  (27)  THAT 
THEY  SHOULD  SEEK  THE  GOD,  IF  HAPLY  THEY  MIGHT 
FEEL  AFTER  HIM  AND  FIND  HIM,  BEING  AS  INDEED 
HE  IS  NOT  FAR  FROM  EACH  ONE  OF  US.  (28)  FOR  IN 
HIM   WE   LIVE   AND    MOVE    AND   ARE,    AS    CERTAIN    ALSO 


250  Athens  and  Corinth.  Chap.  XI. 

OF  YOUR  POETS  HAVE  SAID,  FOR  WE  ARE  ALSO 
HIS  OFFSPRING.     (29)  being  then  the  offspring 

OF  GOD,  WE  OUGHT  NOT  TO  THINK  THAT  THE 
DIVINE  NATURE  IS  LIKE  UNTO  GOLD  OR  SILVER  OR 
STONE,  GRAVEN  BY  ART  AND  DEVICE  OF  MAN.  (30) 
NOW  THE  TIMES  OF  IGNORANCE  GOD  OVERLOOKED, 
BUT  AT  PRESENT  HE  CHARGETH  ALL  MEN  EVERY- 
WHERE TO  REPENT,  (31)  INASMUCH  AS  HE  HATH  SET 
A  DAY  ON  WHICH,  IN  the  person  of  THE  MAN  WHOM 
HE  HATH  ORDAINED,  HE  WILL  JUDGE  THE  WORLD  IN 
RIGHTEOUSNESS  ;  AND  HE  HATH  GIVEN  ALL  A  GUAR- 
ANTEE BY  RAISING  HIM  FROM  THE  DEATH."  (32)  AND 
WHEN  THEY  HEARD  OF  "  RAISING  FROM  THE  DEAD," 
SOME  MOCKED,  AND  OTHERS  SAID,  "  WE  WILL  HEAR 
THEE  CONCERNING  THIS  YET  AGAIN".  (33)  THUS  PAUL 
WENT  OUT  FROM  THE  MIDST  OF  THEM.  (34)  BUT 
CERTAIN  MEN  CLAVE  UNTO  HIM  AND  BELIEVED  ; 
AMONG  WHOM  ALSO  WAS  DIONYSIUS,  A  MEMBER  OF 
THE  COUNCIL,  AND  A  WOMAN  NAMED  DAMARIS,  AND 
OTHERS  WITH  THEM.  (XVIII  l)  AND  THEREAFTER  HE 
LEFT   ATHENS,    AND   WENT   TO   CORINTH. 

The  influence  of  Paul's  Athenian  surroundings  may  be 
traced  in  the  "  philosophy  of  history  "  which  he  sketches 
briefly  in  his  address.  In  the  Socratic  position  the  virtue 
of"  knowing"  was  too  exclusively  dwelt  on,  and  in  some 
of  the  earlier  Platonic  dialogues  the  view  is  maintained 
that  virtue  is  knowledge  and  vice  ignorance  ;  and  Greek 
philosophy  was  never  clear  about  the  relation  of  will  and 
permanent  character  to  "knowing".  The  Greek  philo- 
sophers could  hardly  admit,  and  could  never  properly 
understand,  that  a  man  may  know  without  carrying  his 
knowledge  into  action,  that  he  may  refuse  to  know  when 


Sec.  3-  The  Speech  before  the  Council.  251 

knowledge  is  within  his  grasp,  and  that  the  refusal 
exercises  a  permanent  deteriorating  influence  on  his 
character.  Now  Paul,  in  his  estimate  of  the  relation  of 
the  pre-Christian  world  to  God,  adopts  a  different  position 
in  the  Athenian  speech  from  that  on  which  he  afterwards 
took  his  stand  in  his  letter  to  the  Romans,  I  19-32.  In 
the  latter  place  he  recognises  (to  quote  Lightfoot's  brief 
analysis)  that  the  pagan  world  "  might  have  seen  God 
through  His  works.  They  refused  to  see  Him.  They 
disputed,  and  they  blinded  their  hearts.  .  .  .  There- 
fore they  were  delivered  over  to  impurity.  .  .  .  They 
not  only  did  those  things  ;  but  they  took  delight  in  those 
who  did  them."  Here  we  have  a  full  recognition  of  that 
fundamental  fact  in  human  nature  and  life,  which 
.^schylus  expressed  in  his  greatest  drama  1  as  a  conception 
of  his  own  differing  from  the  common  Greek  view :  "  the 
impious  act  breeds  more,  like  to  its  own  kind  :  it  is  the 
nature  of  crime  to  beget  new  crime,  and  along  with  it  the 
depraved  audacious  will  that  settles,  like  an  irresistible 
spirit  of  ill,  on  the  house ".  But  to  the  Athenians  Paul 
says,  "  the  times  of  ignorance,  therefore,  God  overlooked  "  ; 
and  those  times  are  alluded  to  as  a  period,  when  men  were 
doing  their  best  to  find  and  to  worship  "  God  Unknown  ". 
We  must  not,  of  course,  demand  that  the  entire  theology 
of  Paul  should  be  compressed  into  this  single  address  ;  but 
yet  there  is  a  notable  omission  of  an  element  that  was 
unfamiliar  and  probably  repugnant  to  his  audience,  and  an 

^  Agamemnon  730  f.,  a  passage  where  the  text  is  very  uncertain 
and  is  terribly  maltreated  by  many  editors :  Paley  turns  it  into 
an  elaborate  genealogical  tree,  while  Wecklein  conjectures  away 
the  depravation  of  the  will,  which  is  the   key   to   the    philosophic 

nosition  of  iEschvlus. 


252  Athens  and  Corinth.  Chap.  XI. 

equally  notable  insistence  on  an  element  that  was  familiar 
to  them.     The  Stoic  ring  in  23  f.  is  marked  (pp.  147,  150). 

One  woman  was  converted  at  Athens  ;  and  it  is  not  said 
that  she  was  of  good  birth,  as  was  stated  at  Beroea  and 
Thessalonica  and  Pisidian  Antioch.  The  difference  is  true 
to  life.  It  was  impossible  in  Athenian  society  for  a  woman 
of  respectable  position  and  family  to  have  any  oppor- 
tunity of  hearing  Paul  ;  and  the  name  Damaris  (probably 
a  vulgarism  for  dainalis,  heifer)  suggests  a  foreign  woman, 
perhaps  one  of  the  class  of  educated  Hetairai,  who  might 
very  well  be  in  his  audience. 

It  would  appear  that  Paul  was  disappointed  and  perhaps 
disillusioned  by  his  experience  in  Athens.  He  felt  that 
he  had  gone  at  least  as  far  as  was  right  in  the  way  of 
presenting  his  doctrine  in  a  form  suited  to  the  current 
philosophy ;  and  the  result  had  been  little  more  than 
naught.  When  he  went  on  from  Athens  to  Corinth,  he 
no  longer  spoke  in  the  philosophic  style.  In  replying 
afterwards  to  the  unfavourable  comparison  between  his 
preaching  and  the  more  philosophical  style  of  Apollos,  he 
told  the  Corinthians  that,  when  he  came  among  them,  he 
"  determined  not  to  know  anything  save  Jesus  Christ,  and 
Him  crucified  "  (I  Cor.  II  2)  ;  and  nowhere  throughout 
his  writings  is  he  so  hard  on  the  wise,  the  philosophers, 
and  the  dialecticians,  as  when  he  defends  the  way  in 
which  he  had  presented  Christianity  at  Corinth.  Ap- 
parently the  greater  concentration  of  purpose  and 
simplicity  of  method  in  his  preaching  at  Corinth  is  referred 
to  by  Luke,  when  he  says,  XVIII  5,  that  when  Silas  and 
Timothy  rejoined  him  there,  they  found  him  wholly 
possessed  by  and  engrossed  in  the  word.  This  strong 
expression,  so  unlike  anything  else  in  Acts^  must,  on  our 


Sec.  3.  The  Speech  before  the  Council.  253 

hypothesis,  be  taken  to   indicate  some  specially  marked 
character  in  the  Corinthian  preaching. 

4.  CORINTH.  (XVIII  I)  AFTER  THESE  EVENTS  HE 
LEFT  ATHENS  AND  WENT  TO  CORINTH.  (2)  AND, 
FINDING  A  CERTAIN  JEW  NAMED  AQUILA,  A  MAN  OF 
PONTUS  BY  BIRTH,  WHO  HAD  LATELY  COME  FROM 
ITALY,  AND  PRISCILLA  HIS  WIFE,  BECAUSE  CLAUDIUS 
HAD  COMMANDED  ALL  THE  JEWS  TO  LEAVE  ROME,  HE 
ACCOSTED  THEM.  (3)  AND  BECAUSE  HE  WAS  OF  THE 
SAME  CRAFT,  HE  ABODE  WITH  THEM,  AND  WROUGHT 
AT  HIS  TRADE  [FOR  THEY  WERE  TENTMAKERS  BY 
THEIR  CRAFT].  (4)  AND  HE  USED  TO  DISCOURSE  IN 
THE  SYNAGOGUE  EVERY  SABBATH,  AND  TRIED  TO 
PERSUADE  JEWS  AND  GREEKS.  (5)  AND  WHEN  SILAS 
AND  TIMOTHY  ARRIVED  FROM  MACEDONIA,  HE  WAS 
WHOLLY  ABSORBED  IN  PREACHING,  ATTESTING  TO  THE 
JEWS    THAT    THE    ANOINTED    ONE    IS    JESUS. 

Almost  all  MSS.  add  to  v.  3  the  explanation  which 
we  have  given  in  parentheses  ;  but  it  comes  in  very 
awkwardly,  for  Luke,  who  said  at  the  beginning  of 
the  verse,  "  because  he  was  of  the  same  craft,"  did  not 
intend  to  say  at  the  end,  "  for  they  were  tentmakers 
by  craft ".  The  Bezan  Text  and  an  old  Latin  Version 
{Gig.)  omit  this  detail  ;  and  they  must  here  represent  the 
original  state  of  the  text.  In  order  to  make  the  explana- 
tion a  little  less  awkward,  the  two  great  MSS.  read,  "  he 
abode  with  them  and  they  wrought ".  The  explanation  is 
a  gloss,  which  crept  from  the  margin  into  the  text.  It  is 
doubtless  very  early,  and  perfectly  trustworthy  :  its  vitality 
lies  in  its  truth,  for  that  was  not  the  kind  of  detail  that 
was  invented  in  the  growth  of  the  Pauline  legend. 

Aquila,  a   man    of   Pontus,  settled   in    Rome,   bears   a 


2  54  Athens  and  Corinth.  Chap.  XI. 

Latin  name  ;  and  must  therefore  have  belonged  to  the 
province  and  not  to  non-Roman  Pontus,  This  is  a  good 
example  of  Luke's  principle  to  use  the  Roman  provincial 
divisions  for  purposes  of  classification  (pp.  91,  196). 

There  is  here  a  reference  to  Imperial  history.  Aquila 
and  Priscilla  had  come  recently  from  Rome,  on  account  of 
an  edict  of  Claudius  expelling  the  Jews  from  Rome. 
Suetonius  says  that  the  expulsion  was  caused  by  a  series  of 
disturbances  "  due  to  the  action  of  Chrestus  "  ;  and  in  all 
probability  this  Chrestus  must  be  interpreted  as  "  the 
leader  of  the  Chrestians"  (p.  47  f.),  taken  by  a  popular 
error  as  actually  living.  In  the  earliest  stages  of 
Christian  history  in  Rome,  such  a  mistake  was  quite 
natural ;  and  Suetonius  reproduces  the  words  which  he 
found  in  a  document  of  the  period.  As  Dion  Cassius 
mentions,  it  was  found  so  difficult  to  keep  the  Jews  out 
of  Rome  on  account  of  their  numbers,  that  the  Emperor 
did  not  actually  expel  them,  but  made  stricter  regulations 
about  their  conduct.  It  would  therefore  appear  that  the 
edict  was  found  unworkable  in  practice  ;  but  Suetonius  is 
a  perfect  authority  that  it  was  tried,  and  it  is  quite 
probable  that  some  Jews  obeyed  it,  and  among  them 
Aquila.  Neither  Suetonius  nor  Dion  gives  any  clue  to 
the  date  ;  but  Orosius  says  that  it  occurred  in  Claudius's 
ninth  year,  49.  I  believe  that  this  date  is  a  year  wrong, 
like  that  of  the  famine  (p.  68),  and  for  the  same  reason  : 
the  edict  must  be  placed  in  the  end  of  50,  and  thus  Aquila 
arrived  in  Corinth  six  or  seven  months  before  Paul  came 
in  Sept.  51. 

The  careful  record  of  Aquila's  antecedents  must,  on  our 
hypothesis,  be  taken  as  not  a  mere  picturesque  detail  ; 
Luke   mentioned   his   Roman    residence,   because   it   had 


Sec.  4.  Corinth.  255 

some  bearing  on  his  subject.  After  some  time  (during 
most  of  which  Paul  had  been  in  Aquila's  company  at 
Corinth  and  at  Ephesus),  a  journey  to  Rome  is  announced 
as  Paul's  next  intention,  XIX  21.  Aquila  was  able  to  tell 
him  of  the  events  that  had  occurred  in  Rome  "  at  the 
action  of  Chrestus  " ;  and  his  experience  showed  him  how 
important  it  was  to  go  direct  to  the  great  centres  of 
Roman  life.  The  connection  of  Luke  with  the  Mace- 
donian journey  (p.  203)  is  an  interesting  parallel. 

Paul  mentions  in  writing  to  the  Romans,  XV  24,  that 
he  intended  to  go  on  from  Rome  to  Spain.  Such  an 
intention  implies  in  the  plainest  way  an  idea  already 
existent  in  Paul's  mind  of  Christianity  as  the  religion  of 
the  Roman  Empire,  Spain  was  by  far  the  most 
thoroughly  romanised  district  of  the  Empire,  as  was 
marked  soon  after  by  the  act  of  Vespasian  in  75,  when 
he  made  the  Latin  status  universal  in  Spain.  From  the 
centre  of  the  Roman  world  Paul  would  go  on  to  the  chief 
seat  of  Roman  civilisation  in  the  West,  and  would  thus 
complete  a  first  survey,  the  intervals  of  which  should  be 
filled  up  by  assistants,  such  as  Timothy,  Titus,  etc. 

5.  THE  SYNAGOGUE  AND  THE  GENTILES  IN 
CORINTH.  (XVIII  6)  AND  WHEN  THEY  BEGAN  TO 
FORM  A  FACTION  AGAINST  HIM  AND  BLASPHEME,  HE 
SHOOK  OUT  HIS  GARMENTS  AND  SAID  UNTO  THEM, 
"  YOUR  BLOOD  ON  YOUR  OWN  HEAD  !  I  ON  MY  SIDE 
AM  CLEAN  !  FROM  HENCEFORTH  I  WILL  GO  UNTO  THE 
GENTILES,"  i.e.,  in  this  city.  (7)  AND  HE  CHANGED 
HIS  PLACE  from  the  synagogue,  AND  WENT  INTO  THE 
HOUSE  OF  A  CERTAIN  MAN  NAMED  TITIUS  JUSTUS,  A 
GOD-FEARING  proselyte,  WHOSE  HOUSE  JOINED  HARD  TO 
THE     SYNAGOGUE.      (8)     BUT     CRISPUS,    THE    ARCHISYNA- 


256  Athens  and  Coi'inth.  Chap.  XI. 

GOGOS,  BELIEVED  IN  THE  LORD  WITH  ALL  HIS  HOUSE; 
AND  MANY  OF  THE  PEOPLE  OF  CORINTH  USED  TO 
HEAR  AND  BELIEVE  AND  RECEIVE  BAPTISM.  (9)  AND 
THE  LORD  SAID  IN  THE  NIGHT  BY  A  VISION  UNTO 
PAUL,  "  BE  NOT  AFRAID,  BUT  SPEAK  ON,  AND  HOLD 
NOT  THY  PEACE  ;  (lO)  BECAUSE  I  AM  WITH  THEE, 
AND  NO  MAN  SHALL  SET  ON  THEE  TO  HARM  THEE; 
BECAUSE  I  HAVE  MUCH  PEOPLE  IN  THIS  CITY".  (ll) 
AND  HE  SETTLED  A  YEAR  AND  SIX  MONTHS,  TEACH- 
ING AMONG   THEM   THE   WORD   OF   GOD. 

The  distinction  between  the  period  of  work  in  the 
synagogue,  and  that  of  direct  preaching  to  the  populace, 
is  expressed  with  marked  emphasis  at  Corinth.  Corinth 
stood  on  the  highroad  between  Rome  and  the  East ;  and 
wqs  therefore  one  of  the  greatest  centres  of  influence  in 
the  Roman  world.  Macedonia  was  in  this  respect  quite 
secondary,  though  one  of  the  routes  to  the  East  passed 
across  it ;  and  hence  Paul  was  ordered  to  sit  down  for 
a  prolonged  stay  when  he  reached  Corinth.  It  is 
characteristic  of  Luke  to  define  the  entire  stay  before 
relating  some  incidents  that  occurred  in  it  (pp.  153,  289). 

It  must  be  acknowledged  that  Paul  had  not  a  very 
conciliatory  way  with  the  Jews  when  he  became  angry. 
The  shaking  out  of  his  garments  was  undoubtedly  a  very 
exasperating  gesture  ;  and  the  occupying  of  a  meeting- 
house next  door  to  the  synagogue,  with  the  former 
archisynagogos  as  a  prominent  officer,  was  more  than 
human  nature  could  stand.  Probably  he  found  unusual 
opposition  here,  pp.  143,  287  ;  but  it  is  not  strange  that  the 
next  stage  of  proceedings  was  in  a  law-court. 

Titius  Justus  was  evidently  a  Roman  or  a  Latin,  one 
of  the  coloni  of  the  colony  Corinth.      Like  the  centurion 


Sec.  5.        The  Synagogue  and  the  Gentiles.  257 

Cornelius,  he  had  been  attracted  to  the  synagogue.  His 
citizenship  would  afford  Paul  an  opening  to  the  more 
educated  class  of  the  Corinthian  population. 

It  seems  to  be  implied  by  vv.  8,  17,  that  there  was 
only  one  archisynagogos  in  the  Corinthian  synagogue ; 
and,  when  Crispus  became  a  Christian,  a  successor  was 
appointed.  At  Pisidian  Antioch  there  were  several  arcJii- 
synagogoi,  M.  S.  Reinach  has  shown  from  a  Smyrnaean 
inscription  that  the  title  in  Asia  Minor  did  not  indicate 
an  office,  but  was  a  mere  expression  of  dignity,  "  a  leading 
person  in  the  synagogue" ;  and  the  Bezan  Text  of  XIV  2 
distinguishes  clearly  between  the  archons  of  the  synagogue 
(officials,  probably  two  in  number),  and  the  archisynagogoi. 

6.  THE  IMPERIAL  POLICY  IN  ITS  RELATION 
TO  PAUL  AND  TO  CHRISTIAN  PREACHING. 
(XVIII  12)  BUT  WHILE  GALLIC  WAS  PROCONSUL  OF 
ACHAIA,  THE  JEWS  WITH  ONE  ACCORD  ROSE  UP  AGAINST 
PAUL,  AND  BROUGHT  HIM  BEFORE  THE  TRIBUNAL, 
SAYING,  (13)  "THIS  MAN  PERSUADETH  PEOPLE  TO 
WORSHIP  GOD  CONTRARY  TO  THE  LAW  ".  (14)  BUT 
WHEN  PAUL  WAS  ABOUT  TO  OPEN  HIS  MOUTH,  GALLIO 
SAID  UNTO  THE  JEWS,  "IF  A  MISDEMEANOUR  OR  A 
CRIME  WERE  IN  QUESTION,  YE  JEWS,  REASON  WOULD 
THAT  I  SHOULD  BEAR  WITH  YOU;  (15)  BUT  IF  THEY 
ARE  QUESTIONS  OF  WORD,  not  deed,  AND  OF  NAMES,  not 
things,  AND  OF  YOUR  LAW,  not  Roman  law,  YE  YOUR- 
SELVES WILL  LOOK  TO  IT  :  TO  BE  A  JUDGE  OF  THESE 
MATTERS  I  f07'  my  part  PIAVE  no  MIND".  (16)  AND 
HE  DROVE  THEM  FROM  TPIE  TRIBUNAL.  (17)  AND  ALL 
THE  GREEKS  SEIZED  SOSTHENES,  THE  ARCHISYNAGOGOS, 
AND  PROCEEDED  TO  BEAT  HIM  BEFORE  THE  TRIBUNAL; 
AND   GALLIO    TOOK   NO    NOTICE   OF   THIS   CONDUCT. 


258  Aikens  and  Corinth.  Chap.  XI. 

Achaia  was  governed  by  a  proconsul  from  B.C.  27  to 
A.D.  15,  and  from  A.D.  44  onwards.  It  was  a  province 
of  the  second  rank,  and  was  administered  by  Roman 
officials,  after  holding  the  praetorship,  and  generally  before 
the  consulship.  Corinth  had  now  become  the  chief  city  of 
Achaia,  and  the  residence  of  its  governors  (as  Marquardt 
infers  from  this  passage). 

Here  we  have  another  point  of  contact  with  Roman 
history.  Gallio  was  a  brother  of  the  famous  Seneca, 
and  shared  his  fortunes.  Seneca  was  in  disgrace  from 
41  to  49  ;  but  in  49  he  was  recalled  from  banishment 
and  appointed  praetor  for  A.D.  50.  Pliny  mentions 
that  Gallio  attained  the  consulship,  which  was  probably 
after  his  proconsulship  in  Achaia.  In  his  career  of  office 
Gallio  must  have  been  praetor  not  less  than  five  years  before 
he  went  to  Achaia  ;  but  no  evidence  survives  to  show  in 
what  year  he  held  the  praetorship  (except  that  it  cannot 
have  been  between  41  and  49)  :  as  the  elder  brother,  he 
probably  held  it  before  Seneca.  There  is  no  other  evidence 
that  Gallio  governed  Achaia ;  but  the  statement  of  Luke 
is  corroborated  by  the  fact,  which  Seneca  mentions,  that 
Gallio  caught  fever  in  Achaia,  and  took  a  voyage  for 
change  of  air. 

Either  the  Jews  at  Corinth  did  not  manage  their 
accusation  so  well  as  those  of  Thessalonica,  or  Gallio 
elicited  the  true  character  of  their  complaints  against 
Paul  as  being  really  matters  of  mere  Jewish  concern. 
It  is  clear  that  Gallio's  short  speech  represents  the  con- 
clusion of  a  series  of  inquiries,  for  the  accusation,  as  it 
is  quoted,  does  not  refer  to  words  or  names,  but  only 
to  the  Law.  But  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  the 
Tews  put  their  accusation  at  first  in  a  serious  light,  with 


Sec.  6.  The  Imperial  Policy.  259 


a    view    to    some    serious    penalty    being    inflicted;    and 
Gallio,  on  probing  their  allegations,   reduced   the   matter 
to  its  true  dimensions  as  a  question  that  concerned  only 
the  self-administering  community  of  "  the   Nation  of  the 
Jews   in    Corinth".     It    would    have    been    interesting  to 
know  more  about  this  case,  for   it    seems    to    show   that 
Gallio    shared    the    broad    and    generous    views    of    his 
brother    about    the    policy   of   Rome    in    regard    to    the 
various    religions    of  the    provinces.     The    Greeks,    who 
always  hated  the  Jews,  took    advantage    of   the    marked 
snub  which  the  governor  had   inflicted  on  them,  to  seize 
and  beat  Sosthenes,  who  had  been   appointed  to  replace 
Crispus     as     Archisynagogos,     and     who     doubtless    was 
taking    a    prominent    part    in    the    proceedings.      Gallio 
took  no   notice    of   this    piece    of   "  Lynch   law,"    which 
probably  seemed  to  him  to  be  a  rough  sort  of  justice. 

The  fact  that  Sosthenes  (whether  the  same  or  another) 

joined  with  Paul  in  writing  to  the  Corinthians,  I  i,  caused 

an  early  misapprehension  of  the  scene.     It  was  understood 

that  Gallio,  after  deciding  against  the  Jews,  allowed  them 

to  console   themselves   by  beating  a  Christian;   and  the 

word  "  Greeks  "  is  omitted  in  the  great  MSS.  under  the 

influence  of  this  mistake.     But  such  action  is  inconceivable 

in  the  Roman  governor  ;  and  the  text  of  the  inferior  MSS. 

which   substitutes   a  'lifelike   and   characteristic   scene  for 

one  that  is  utterly  foolish,  must  undoubtedly  be  preferred. 

Probably  two  persons  at  Corinth  named  Sosthenes  were 

brought  into  relations  with  Paul,  one  a  Jew,  the  other  a 

prominent  Christian  ;   or  perhaps  the  Jew  was  converted 

at  a  later  date. 

This  action  of  the  Imperial  government    in    protectmg 
him    from    the    Jews,  and    (if   we    are    right)    declaring 


2  6o  Athens  and  Coi^intk.  Chap.  XL 

freedom  in  religious  matters,  seems  to  have  been  the 
crowning  fact  in  determining  Paul's  line  of  conduct. 
According  to  our  view,  the  residence  at  Corinth  was  an 
epoch  in  Paul's  life.  As  regards  his  doctrine  he  became 
more  clearly  conscious  of  its  character,  as  well  as  more 
precise  and  definite  in  his  presentation  of  it  ;  and  as 
regards  practical  work  he  became  more  clear  as  to  his 
aim  and  the  means  of  attaining  the  aim,  namely,  that 
Christianity  should  be  spread  through  the  civilised,  i.e., 
the  Roman,  world  (not  as  excluding,  but  as  preparatory 
to,  the  entire  world.  Col.  Ill  li),  using  the  freedom  of 
speech  which  the  Imperial  policy  as  declared  by  Gallio 
seemed  inclined  to  permit.  The  action  of  Gallio,  as  we 
understand  it,  seems  to  pave  the  way  for  Paul's  appeal 
a  few  years  later  from  the  petty  outlying  court  of  the 
procurator  of  Judaea,  who  was  always  much  under  the 
influence  of  the  ruling  party  in  Jerusalem,  to  the 
supreme  tribunal  of  the  Empire  (p.  306  f.). 

The  letters  to  the  Thessalonians  belong  to  the  earlier 
part  of  his  stay  in  Corinth,  before  he  had  definitely 
reached  the  new  stage  of  thought  and  aim.  To  the  new 
stage,  when  he  had  attained  full  consciousness  and  full 
dominion  over  his  own  plans,  belong  the  four  great 
letters,  Gal.,  I  and  II  Cor.,  Rom, 

Note  I.  6  "Apeio<i  nd>yo<i  was  often  used,  in  a  conversa- 
tional way,  in  place  of  the  cumbrous  technical  form,  rj  i^ 
'Apeiov  ndyov  ^ovX/].  The  decisive  passages  are  pointed 
out  to  me  by  two  friends  and  old  pupils,  Mr.  A.  Souter 
and  Rev.  A.  F.  Findlay.  Cicero  says  to  Atticus,  I  14,  5, 
Senatus  "'Ap€co<i  JJd'yo^,  "  our  Senate  is  a  veritable  Areopa- 
gus ".     Cicero  picked  up  the  conversational  usage  during 


Note  i.  6  ''ApeLO<;  Ilayos.  26 1 

his  six  months'  residence  in  Athens ;  and  hence  he  uses 
Areopagus  to  denote  the  Court,  Nat.  D.  \\  29,  74,  Rep.  I 
2"]^  43.  Again  in  an  inscription  of  A.D.  50-100  (Cavvadias, 
Fouilks  d'Epidatire,  I  p.  68,  No,  206)  we  find  "Apeto^  na/yo<i 
€v  'EXeva-lvi  Xoyov;  iiroLrjaaro.  (Pape  quotes  other  cases, 
which  are  not  so  clear,  and  are  denied  by  some  authorities.) 
Here,  as  everywhere,  we  find  Luke  using  the  language  of 
educated  conversation. 

Note  2.  Gallio.  One  of  the  many  difficulties  in  which 
Dr.  Clemen's  theory  involves  him  is  that  he  has  to  deny 
the  identity  of  Luke's  Gallio  with  Seneca's  brother.  Gallio's 
voyage  from  Achaia,  undertaken  on  account  of  a  local 
fever  (Seneca,  Ep.  Mor.  104,  i),  was  not  the  same  as  his 
voyage  from  Rome  to  Egypt  after  his  consulship  on 
account  of  phthisis  (Pliny,  XXXI  33),  though  probably 
the  first  also  was  to  Egypt. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

THE  CHURCH  IN  ASIA. 

I.  THE  SYRIAN  VOYAGE  AND  THE  RETURN 
TO  EPHESUS.  (XVIII  1 8)  AND  PAUL  TOOK  HIS  LEAVE 
OF  THE  BRETHREN,  AND  SAILED^  THENCE  FOR  SYRIA, 
AND  WITH  HIM  PRISCILLA  AND  AQUILA  ;  AND  HE 
SHORE  HIS  HEAD  IN  CENCHRE^,  FOR  HE  HAD  A  VOW. 
(19)  AND  THEY  REACHED  EPHESUS,  AND  HE  LEFT  THE 
OTHERS  THERE.  AND  FOR  HIMSELF,  HE  WENT  INTO 
THE  SYNAGOGUE,  AND  DELIVERED  A  DISCOURSE  UNTO 
THE  JEWS.  (20)  AND  WHEN  THEY  ASKED  HIM  TO 
ABIDE  A  LONGER  TIME,  HE  CONSENTED  NOT;  (21) 
BUT  HE  TOOK  HIS  LEAVE  OF  THEM,  AND  SAID,  ["  I 
MUST  BY  ALL  MEANS  PASS  THE  COMING  FEAST  IN 
JERUSALEM]  ;  IF  GOD  PLEASE,  I  WILL  RETURN  UNTO 
YOU  ;  "  AND  HE  SET  SAIL  FROM  EPHESUS.  (22)  AND, 
REACHING  C^SAREIA,  HE  WENT  UP  to  Jerusalem, 
SALUTED  THE  CHURCH,  AND  then  WENT  DOWN  TO 
ANTIOCH.  (23)  AND,  HAVING  SPENT  SOME  TIME  there, 
HE  WENT  FORTH,  AND  MADE  A  PROGRESS  IN  ORDER 
from  first  to  last  THROUGH  TI-IE  GALATIC  REGION  AND 
THE  PHRYGIAN  Region,  CONFIRMING  ALL  THE  DIS- 
CIPLES. .  .  .  (XIX  l)  AND  IT  CAME  TO  PASS  THAT 
PAUL,    MAKING  A  MISSIONARY  PROGRESS  THROUGH   THE 

^  e|fVXf^,    lit.   "   he   set   about    the   voyage "  :     contrast    XX    6 

(262) 


Sec.  I.  The  Sy7'ian   Voyage.  263 

HIGHER-LYING  QUARTERS  of  Asia,  CAME  TO  the  capital  of 
the  province  EPHESUS  {Expositor,  July,  1895,  P-  39)' 

Just  as  in  XX  6  the  company  sailed  away  from 
Philippi  (Neapolis,  where  they  really  embarked,  being 
omitted,  p.  70),  so  here  Paul  sailed  from  Corinth,  the 
harbour  being  left  out  of  sight.  Then  the  harbour  is 
brought  in  as  an  afterthought :  before  actually  embark- 
ing at  Cenchreae,  the  eastern  port  of  Corinth,  Paul  cut 
his  hair,  marking  the  fulfilment  of  a  vow  which 
apparently  was  connected  with  safe  embarkation  from 
Corinth.  Though  the  grammatical  construction  of  v.  18 
would  suggest  that  Aquila  made  the  vow,  and  one  old 
Latin  Version  makes  this  sense  explicit,  yet  the  natural 
emphasis  marks  Paul  as  the  subject  here. 

Aquila  and  Priscilla  remained  in  Ephesus  until  the 
end  of  55  (I  Cor.  XVI  19);  but  in  56  they  returned  to 
Rome,  where  they  were  in  the  early  part  of  A.D.  56 
{Rom.  XVI  3).  We  may  fairly  suppose  that  Timothy 
came  with  Paul  to  Ephesus,  and  went  up  on  a  mission 
from  thence  to  his  native  city  and  the  other  Churches  of 
Galatia. 

This  is  an  important  passage  for  dating  the  journey. 
If  we  accept  the  longer  reading  of  z/.  21  (which 
appears  in  the  Bezan  Text,  and  elsewhere),  it  is  certain 
that  Paul  was  hurrying  to  Jerusalem  for  the  coming  feast, 
which  may  be  confidently  understood  as  the  Passover, 
But  even  with  the  shorter  reading  of  the  great  MSS., 
it  would  be  highly  probable  that  the  reason  why  he 
postponed  accepting  the  invitation  to  work  in  Ephesus 
and  hurried  on  to  Caesareia,  could  lie  only  in  his  desire 
to  be  present  at  Jerusalem  on  some  great  occasion  ; 
and  the  Passover  is  the  feast  which  would    attract    him. 


264  The  Clutrch  in  Asia.  Chap.  XII. 

Paul  seems  to  have  made  a  practice  of  beginning  his 
journeys  in  the  spring. 

According  to  our  view  the  whole  journey  took  place 
thus.  Paul  was  always  eager  to  profit  by  any  "  open 
door,"  and  an  invitation  from  his  own  people  to  preach 
to  them  in  Ephesus  must  have  been  specially  tempting 
to  him.  Nothing  but  some  pressing  duty,  which  seemed 
to  him  to  imperatively  require  his  presence  in  Jerusalem 
at  the  feast,  was  likely  to  hurry  him  away  from  them. 
Further,  the  feast  must  have  been  close  at  hand,  other- 
wise he  could  have  waited  some  weeks  before  going  on. 
Now,  in  A.D.  53,  Passover  fell  on  March  22  ;  and 
navigation  began  as  a  rule  only  on  March  5.  But  Paul 
took  an  early  ship  for  Caesareia,  probably  a  pilgrim 
ship,  carrying  from  Corinth  and  Ephesus  many  Jews  for 
the  coming  Passover,  and  directing  its  course  accordingly. 
In  these  circumstances  he  could  not  lose  a  day  on  the 
road,  and  could  merely  promise  to  return,  "  if  God  will  ". 

On  reaching  Caesareia,  he  went  up  and  saluted  the 
Church.  Dr.  Blass  considers  that  he  went  up  from  the 
harbour  to  the  city  of  Caesareia  and  saluted  the  Church 
there,  and  then  "  went  down "  to  Antioch.  That  inter- 
pretation is  impossible  for  several  reasons,  (i)  It  is 
impossible  to  use  the  term  "  went  down  "  of  a  journey 
from  the  coast-town  Caesareia  to  the  inland  city 
Antioch.  On  the  contrary,  one  regularly  "  goes  down  " 
to  a  coast-town  (XIII  4,  XIV  25,  XVI  8,  etc.). 
(2)  The  terms  "  going  up "  and  "  going  down "  are 
used  so  frequently  of  the  journey  to  and  from  Jerusalem 
as  to  establish  this  usage.  Usually  the  phrase  is  given 
in  full,  "  they  went  up  to  Jerusalem "  ;  but  Dr.  Blass 
accepts  as  Lukan  a  reading  in  XV  6,  in  which    "  to    go 


Sec.  r.  The  Syrian    Voyage.  265 


up  to  the  Elders  "  is  used  in  the  sense  of  "  to  go  up  to 
Jerusalem  to  the  Elders ".  If  he  admits  that  sense  in 
XV  6,  why  not  also  in  XVIII  22?  Conversely,  the 
phrase  "to  go  down"  is  used  XXIV  22,  where  the 
reader  has  to  understand  "from  Jerusalem  to  Ca^sareia". 
Now,  the  aim  of  Paul's  journey  to  Jerusalem,  having 
been  put  in  the  reader's  mind  by  the  words  oi  v.  21,  is 
readily  and  naturally  supplied  in  v.  22. 

The  shipload  of  pilgrims  to  Jerusalem,  with  Paul 
among  them,  landed  at  Caesareia,  and  went  up  to 
Jerusalem  to  the  Passover  in  regular  course.  Paul  ex- 
changed greetings  with  the  Church  (this  phrase  implies 
that  he  made  only  a  brief  stay),  and  went  down  to 
Antioch.  There  he  received  serious  news  about  the 
Galatian  Churches  (p.  190)  ;  and  with  all  convenient 
speed  he  went  by  the  land  route  through  Cilicia,  to 
Derbe,  Lystra,  Iconium,  and  Pisidian  Antioch.  With 
the  shortest  stay  that  can  be  supposed,  when  he  was 
seeing  old  and  loved  friends  after  years  of  absence, 
Paul  can  hardly  have  reached  Derbe  before  July  53. 
We  cannot  allow  less  than  two  months  for  confirming 
the  wavering  Churches  of  Galatia,  especially  as  on  this 
visit  (I  Cor.  XVI  i)  he  probably  planned  the  collection 
for  the  poor  in  Jerusalem,  which  was  made  universal 
throughout  his  new  Churches  during  the  following  three 
years.  Thus  he  would  have  completed  his  work  in 
Galatia  by  the  beginning  of  September.  Then  he  went 
on  to  Ephesus,  taking  the  higher-lying  and  more  direct 
route,  not  the  regular  trade  route  on  the  lower  level 
down  the  Lycus  and  Maeander  valleys.  As  he  made  a 
missionary  progress  through  the  upper  lands,  he  can 
hardly  have   reached    Ephesus    before    the    end    of   Sep- 


266  The  Church  in  Asia.  Chap.  XII. 

tember,  A.D.  53,  and  October  is  a  more  probable  time. 
Such  a  journey  must  have  occupied  much  time,  even  if  we 
cut  it  down  to  the  shortest  possible  limits.  The  distances 
are  very  great,  and  progression  was  very  slow;  and  even  on 
a  rapid  journey  many  interruptions  must  be  allowed  for 
(as  any  one  who  travels  in  these  countries  knows  only  too 
well). 

In  interpreting  v.  22,  we  had  to  understand  that  the 
thought  of  Jerusalem  as  Paul's  aim  had  been  suggested 
to  the  reader's  mind  by  v.  21.  That  is  the  case  when  the 
longer  form  of  v.  21  is  accepted  ;  but  with  the  shorter 
text  it  becomes  too  harsh  and  difficult  to  supply  the  un- 
expressed thought  in  v.  22.  We  conclude  that  the  longer 
form  is  the  original  text,  and  the  shorter  form  is  a 
corruption.  But  how  did  the  corruption  originate  ?  A 
curious  error  appears  in  Asterius  (c.  400,  A.D.),  and  in 
Euthalius  (probably  c.  468),  and  therefore  was  probably 
part  of  the  early  tradition,  according  to  which  Pisidian 
Antioch,  not  Syrian  Antioch,  was  alluded  to  in  v.  22. 
By  that  misconception  the  whole  journey  is  obscured, 
and  especially  a  visit  to  Jerusalem  in  v,  22  becomes 
impossible.  Two  ways  of  curing  the  difficulty  were 
tried.  The  Bezan  Text  retained  the  allusion  to  Jerusalem 
and  the  feast  in  v.  22,  and  explained  the  supposed  failure 
to  pay  the  visit  by  interpolating  in  XIX  i  the  statement, 
"  now  when  Paul  wished  according  to  his  own  plan  to 
go  to  Jerusalem,  the  Spirit  bade  him  turn  away  into 
Asia".  On  the  other  hand,  in  the  text  of  the  great  MSS., 
the  reference  to  the  intended  visit  to  Jerusalem  is  cut 
out  of  ^'.  21.  Each  of  these  seems  a  deliberate  and 
conscious  effort  made  by  some  editor  to  eliminate  a 
difficulty  from  the  passage  as  it  stood  originally. 


Sec.  2.  Apollos,  Priscilla  and  Aquila.  267 

2.  APOLLO  S,  PRISCILLA  AND  AQUILA.  During 
the  time  that  Paul  was  absent  from  Ephesus,  there  came 
thither  an  Alexandrian  Jew  named  A  polios,  a  good 
speaker,  and  well  read  in  the  Scriptures.  He  had  learned 
in  Alexandria  the  doctrine  of  John  the  Baptist  and 
his  prophecy  of  the  immediate  coming  of  Christ  ;  and 
this  he  preached  in  Ephesus  with  great  fervour  and 
detailed  proof  from  Scripture.  Priscilla  and  Aquila, 
having  heard  his  preaching,  instructed  him  with  regard 
to  the  fulfilment  of  John's  prophecy.  Afterwards  he 
conceived  the  intention  of  crossing  over  to  Achaia ; 
and  the  Brethren  gave  him  letters  of  recommendation 
to  the  disciples  in  Corinth.  When  he  settled  there  he 
became  an  effective  preacher,  and  a  powerful  opponent 
of  the  Jews,  showing  how  in  Jesus  the  prophecies  with 
regard  to  the  Anointed  One  were  fulfilled. 

This  episode  is  obviously  introduced,  not  so  much  for  its 
own  intrinsic  importance,  as  for  the  sake  of  rendering 
the  opening  of  Paul's  first  letter  to  the  Corinthians  clear 
and  intelligible.  A  contrast  is  drawn  there  between 
the  more  elaborate  and  eloquent  style  of  Apollos  and 
the  simple  Gospel  of  Paul  ;  and  it  is  implied  that  some 
of  the  Corinthian  Brethren  preferred  the  style  and  Gospel 
of  Apollos.  The  particulars  stated  here  about  Apollos 
have  clearly  been  selected  to  throw  light  on  the  circum- 
stances alluded  to,  but  not  explained  in  the  letter. 

In  the  Bezan  Text  the  account  of  Apollos  appears 
in  a  different  form,  which  has  all  the  marks  of  truth, 
and  yet  is  cleariy  not  original,  but  a  text  remodelled 
according  to  a  good  tradition.  The  name  is  given  in 
the  fuller  form  Apollonius  ;  but  Paul  uses  the  diminutive 
Apollos;   and    Luke,    to    make    his    explanation   clearer. 


268  The  Church  m  Asia.  Chap.  XII. 

would  naturally  use  the  same  form.  Moreover,  Luke 
regularly  uses  the  language  of  conversation,  in  which 
the  diminutive  forms  were  usual  ;  and  so  he  speaks  of 
Priscilla,  Sopatros  and  Silas  always,  though  Paul  speaks 
of  Prisca,  Sosipatros  and  Silvanus.  On  that  principle 
we  must  prefer  the  form  A  polios. 

Again,  the  text  of  almost  all  MSS.  mentions  Priscilla 
first ;  but  the  Bezan  Text  alters  the  order,  putting  Aquila 
first.  Elsewhere  also  the  Bezan  Reviser  shows  his  dislike 
to  the  prominence  assigned  to  women  in  Acts.  In  XVII 
12  he  changes  "not  a  few  of  the  honourable  Greek  women 
and  of  men  "  into  "  of  the  Greeks  and  the  honourable  many 
men  and  women".  In  XVII  34  he  cuts  out  Daman's 
altogether.  In  XVII  4  he  changes  the  "leading  women  " 
into  "  wives  of  the  leading  men  ".  These  changes  show  a 
definite  and  uniform  purpose,  and  therefore  spring  from  a 
deliberate  Revision  of  the  original  Received  Text. 

The  unusual  order,  the  wife  before  the  husband  (so 
XVIII  18),  must  be  accepted  as  original;  for  there  is 
always  a  tendency  among  scribes  to  change  the  unusual 
into  the  usual.  Paul  twice  (II  Tim.  IV  19,  Rom.  XVI 
3)  mentions  Prisca  before  Aquila  ;  that  order  was,  there- 
fore, a  conversational  custom,  familiar  in  the  company 
among  whom  they  moved  ;  though  it  must  have  seemed 
odd  to  strangers  in   later  generations. 

Probably  Prisca  was  of  higher  rank  than  her  husband, 
for  her  name  is  that  of  a  good  old  Roman  family. 
Now.  in  XVIII  2  the  very  harsh  and  strange  arrange- 
ment of  the  sentence  must  strike  every  reader.  But 
clearly  the  intention  is  to  force  on  the  reader's 
mind  the  fact  that  Aquila  was  a  Jew,  while  Priscilla 
was   not  ;    and   it   is   characteristic   of    Luke   to   suggest 


Sec.  2.  Apollos,  Priscilla  and  Aquila.  269 

by  subtle  arrangement  of  words  a  distinction  which 
would  need  space  to  explain  formally  (pp.  85,  204). 
Aquila  was  probably  a  freedman.  The  name  does 
indeed  occur  as  cognomen  in  some  Roman  families  ;  but 
it  was  also  a  slave  name,  for  a  freedman  of  Maecenas 
was  called  (C.  Cilnius)  Aquila.  There  is  probably  much 
to  discover  with  regard  to  this  interesting  pair,  but  in 
this  place  we  cannot  dwell  on  the  subject 

The  order  in  which  the  different  threads  of  the 
narrative  here  succeed  one  another  exactly  recalls  the 
method  of  XI  27-XII  25.  There  vv.  27-30  narrate  the 
events  in  Antioch,  and  bring  Barnabas  and  Saul  to  the 
gates  of  Jerusalem  ;  next,  the  events  in  Jerusalem  are 
brought  up  to  date  ;  and  then  the  action  of  the  envoys 
in  Jerusalem  is  described.  So  here  Paul's  journey  is 
narrated,  and  he  is  brought  to  the  frontier  of  Asia ; 
next,  the  events  in  Ephesus  are  brought  up  to  date ; 
and  then  Paul's  entrance  into  Asia  and  his  action  at 
Ephesus  are  described. 

3.  EPHESUS.  (XIX  l)  AND  IT  CAME  TO  PASS, 
THAT,  WHILE  APOLLOS  WAS  AT  CORINTH,  PAUL,  HAVING 
PASSED  THROUGH  THE  UPPER  DISTRICTS,  CAME  TO 
EPHESUS.  (8)  AND  HE  ENTERED  INTO  THE  SYNAGOGUE, 
AND  SPAKE  BOLDLY  FOR  THE  SPACE  OF  THREE  MONTHS, 
REASONING  AND  PERSUADING  AS  TO  WHAT  CONCERNS 
THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD.  (9)  BUT  WHEN  SOME  WERE 
HARDENED  AND  DISOBEDIENT,  SPEAKING  EVIL  OF 
THE  WAY  BEFORE  THE  MULTITUDE,  HE  DEPARTED 
FROM  THEM  AND  SEPARATED  THE  DISCIPLES,  REASON- 
ING DAILY  IN  THE  SCHOOL  OF  TYRANNUS  [FROM  THE 
FIFTH  TO  THE  TENTH  HOUR].  (lO)  AND  TPIIS  CON- 
TINUED   FOR   THE   SPACE   OF   TWO   YEARS. 


2/0  The   CImrch  in  Asia.  Chap.  XII. 

The  distinction  between  the  period  of  preaching  in 
the  synagogue  and  the  direct  address  to  the  Ephesian 
population  is  very  clearly  marked,  and  the  times  given 
in  each  case.  In  vv.  2-7  a  strange  episode  is  related 
before  Paul  entered  the  synagogue.  He  found  twelve 
men  who  had  been  baptised  by  the  baptism  of  John, 
and  induced  them  to  accept  re-baptism.  This  episode 
I  must  confess  not  to  understand.  It  interrupts  the 
regular  method  of  Luke's  narrative  ;  for  in  all  similar 
cases,  Paul  goes  to  the  synagogue,  and  his  regular  efforts 
for  his  own  people  are  related  before  any  exceptional 
cases  are  recorded.  The  circumstances,  too,  are  difficult. 
How  had  these  twelve  escaped  the  notice  of  Aquila, 
Priscilla,  and  Apollos,  and  yet  attracted  Paul's  attention 
before  he  went  to  the  synagogue  ?  Perhaps  the  intention 
is  to  represent  Paul  as  completing  and  perfecting  the 
work  begun  by  Apollos  ;  re-baptism  was,  apparently, 
not  thought  necessary  for  Apollos,  and  now  Paul  lays 
down  the  principle  that  it  is  required  in  all  such  cases. 
But  that  seems  distinctly  below  the  level  on  which 
Luke's  conception  of  Paul  is  pitched.  If  there  were 
any  authority  in  MS.  or  ancient  Versions  to  omit  the 
episode,  one  would  be  inclined  to  take  that  course.  As 
there  is  none,  I  must  acknowledge  that  I  cannot  reconcile 
it  with  the  conception  of  Luke's  method,  founded  on 
other  parts  of  the  narrative,  which  is  maintained  in  this 
book.  Possibly  better  knowledge  about  the  early  history 
of  the  Ephesian  Church  might  give  this  episode  more 
significance  and  importance  in  the  development  of 
history  than  it  seems  to  possess. 

We  should  be  glad  to  know  more  about  the  lecture- 
room  of  Tyrannus.     It  played  the  same  part  in  Ephesus 


Sec.  3.  Epheszts.  271 

that  the  house  of  Titius  Justus  adjoining  the  s}'nagogue 
did  in  Corinth,  Here  Paul  regularly  taught  every 
day ;  and  the  analogy  which  we  have  noticed  in  other 
cases  (pp.  75,  243)  between  his  position,  as  it  would 
appear  to  the  general  population,  and  that  of  the  rhetors 
and  philosophers  of  the  time,  is  very  marked.  There 
is  one  difference,  according  to  the  Bezan  Text  oi  v.  9 : 
Paul  taught  after  the  usual  work  of  the  lecture- room 
was  concluded,  i.e.,  "  after  business  hours  ".  Doubtless  he 
himself  began  to  work  (XX  34,  I  Cor.  IV  12)  before 
sunrise  and  continued  at  his  trade  till  closing  time, 
an  hour  before  noon.  His  hours  of  work  are  defined 
by  himself,  I  Thess.  \\  9,  "ye  remember  our  labour 
and  toil,  working  day  and  night "  ;  there,  as  often  in 
ancient  literature,  the  hours  before  daybreak  are  called 
"  night,"  and  his  rule  at  Thessalonica  may  be  extended 
to  Ephesus.  Public  life  in  the  Ionian  cities  ended 
regularly  at  the  fifth  hour  ;  and  we  may  add  to  the 
facts  elsewhere  stated  a  regulation  at  Attaleia  in 
Lydia  that  public  distribution  of  oil  should  be  "  from 
the  first  to  the  fifth  hour  "  *.  Thus  Paul  himself  would 
be  free,  and  the  lecture-room  would  be  disengaged, 
after  the  fifth  hour  ;  and  the  time,  w  hich  was  devoted 
generally  to  home-life  and  rest,  was  applied  by  him  to 
mission-work. 

In  the  following  narrativ^e  the  powers  of  Paul  are 
brought  into  competition  with  those  of  Jewish  exorcists 
and  pagan  dabblers  in  the  black  art,  and  his  superiority 
to  them  demonstrated.  Ephesus  was  a  centre  of  all 
such  magical  arts  and  practices,  and  it  was  therefore 
inevitable  that  the  new  teaching    should    be    brought    in 

^  In  an  inscription,  Bulletin  de  Corresp.  Hellen.,  1887,  p.  400. 


272  The   Chttrch  in  Asia.  Chap.  XII. 

contact  with  them  and  triumph  over  them.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that,  in  the  conception  of  Luke,  the 
measure  of  success  lay  in  the  extent  to  which  Divine 
power  and  inspiration  was  communicated  to  a  new 
Church ;  and  perhaps  the  whole  description  may  be 
defended  as  the  extremest  example  of  that  view.  But 
it  seems  undeniable  that,  when  we  contrast  this  passage 
with  the  great  scene  at  Paphos,  or  the  beautiful  though 
less  powerful  scene  with  the  ventriloquist  at  Philippi, 
there  is  in  the  Ephesian  description  something  like 
vulgarity  of  tone,  together  with  a  certain  vagueness  and 
want  of  individuality,  very  different  from  those  other 
scenes.  Such  details,  too,  as  are  given,  are  not  always 
consistent  and  satisfactory  The  seven  sons  in  v.  14 
change  in  an  unintelligible  way  to  two  m  v.  16  (except 
in  the  Bezan  Text)  ;  and  the  statement  that  the  seven 
were  sons  of  a  chief  priest,  looks  more  like  a  popular 
tale  than  a  trustworthy  historical  statement.  There  is 
no  warrant  in  the  text  for  the  view  sometimes  advocated, 
that  Sceva  was  merely  an  impostor  who  pretended  to 
be  a  chief  priest.  The  money  value  of  the  books  that 
were  destroyed  is  another  touch  that  is  thoroughly 
characteristic  of  the  oriental  popular  tale.  The  inability 
of  the  vulgar  oriental  mind  to  conceive  any  other  aim, 
object,  or  standard  in  the  world  except  money,  and  its 
utter  slavery  to  gold,  are  familiar  to  every  one  who  has 
seen  the  life  of  the  people,  or  studied  the  Arabian 
Nights :  in  the  West  one  sees  nothing  like  the  simple, 
childish  frankness  with  which  the  ordinary  oriental 
measures  all  things  by  gold,  and  can  conceive  of  no 
other  conscious  aim  except  gold.  So  far  as  the  oriental 
peasant  is  natural  and  unconscious,  he  is  interesting  and 


Sec.  3.  EphcsiLS.  273 

delightful,  and  his  complete  difference  of  nature  at  once 
attracts  and  holds  at  a  distance  the  man  of  Western 
thoughts  ;  but  so  far  as  he  consciously  attempts  to  con- 
ceive motives  and  form  plans,  gold  is  his  sole  standard 
of  value. 

In  this  Ephesian  description  one  feels  the  character, 
not  of  weighed  and  reasoned  history,  but  of  popular 
fancy  ;  and  I  cannot  explain  it  on  the  level  of  most  of 
the  narrative.  The  writer  is  here  rather  a  picker-up  of 
current  gossip,  like  Herodotus,  than  a  real  historian. 
The  puzzle  becomes  still  more  difficult  when  we  go  on 
to  V.  23,  and  find  ourselves  again  on  the  same  level  as 
the  finest  parts  of  Acts.  If  there  were  many  such  con- 
trasts in  the  book  as  between  vv.  11-20  and  23-41,  I 
should  be  a  believer  in  the  composite  character  of  Acts. 
As  it  is,  I  confess  the  difficulty  in  this  part  ;  but  the 
existence  of  some  unsolved  difficulties  is  not  a  bar  to  the 
view  maintained  in  the  present  treatise  (p.  16). 

4.  THE  CHURCH  IN  THE  PROVINCE  OF  ASIA. 
(XIX  10)  THIS  CONTINUED  FOR  THE  SPACE  OF  TWO 
YEARS,  SO  THAT  ALL  THEY  THAT  DWELT  IN  ASIA 
HEARD  THE  WORD.  .  .  .  (21)  NOW  AFTER  THESE  THINGS 
WERE  ENDED,  PAUL  PURPOSED  IN  THE  SPIRIT,  WHEN 
HE  HAD  MADE  A  PROGRESS  THROUGH  MACEDONIA  AND 
ACHAIA,  TO  GO  TO  JERUSALEM,  SAYING,  "  AFTER  I 
HAVE  BEEN  THERE,  I  MUST  ALSO  SEE  ROME  ".  (22) 
AND,  HAVING  SENT  INTO  MACEDONIA  TWO  OF  THEM 
THAT  ASSISTED  HIM,  TIMOTHY  AND  ERASTUS,  HE  HIM- 
SELF  STAYED   IN   ASIA  FOR   A   WHILE. 

The  work  in  Asia,  which  had  been  Paul's  aim  in  A.D. 

50  (p.  198),  was  now  carried  out.     The  long  residence  suits 

the  greatness  of  the  work,  for  Asia  was  the  richest,  one  of 

18 


2  74  ^^^   Church  in  Asia,  Chap.  XII. 

the  largest,  and  in  many  ways  the  leading  province  of  the 
East. 

Ephesus,  as  the  seat  of  government,  was  the  centre 
from  which  the  whole  province  of  Asia  could  best  be 
affected  (p.  104)  ;  and  the  effect  of  Paul's  long  work 
there  extended  far  over  that  vast  province,  but  chiefly, 
of  course,  along  the  great  lines  of  communication.  For 
example.  Churches  arose  in  three  cities  of  the  Lycos 
Valley,  Laodiceia,  Colossai,  and  Hierapolis,  though 
Paul  himself  did  not  go  there.  All  the  seven  Churches 
mentioned  in  the  Revelation  were  probably  founded 
during  this  period,  for  all  were  within  easy  reach  of 
Ephesus,  and  all  were  great  centres  of  trade.  It  is 
probable  that  they,  being  the  first  foundations  in  the 
province,  retained  a  sort  of  representative  character  ;  and 
thus  they  were  addressed  in  the  Revelation  (perhaps  as 
heads  over  districts),  when  there  were  certainly  other 
Churches  in  the   province. 

In  the  ordinary  communication  between  the  capital 
and  the  other  cities  of  the  province,  the  influence  from 
Ephesus  would  be  carried  to  these  cities  ;  but  that  was 
not  the  only  way  in  which  these  other  Churches  grew. 
Paul  had  with  him  a  number  of  subordinate  helpers,  such 
as  Timothy,  Erastus,  Titus,  etc.  The  analogy  of  many 
other  cases  in  the  early  history  of  the  Church  would 
leave  no  room  to  doubt  that  helpers  were  often  employed 
in  missions  to  the  new  Churches  ;  and,  as  Timothy 
joined  with  Paul  in  the  letter  to  the  Colossians,  it  may 
be  inferred  that  he  had  been  working  in  that  city. 

The  clear  conception  of  a  far-reaching  plan  revealed 
in  V.  21   is  confirmed  by  Rom.  XV  24   (see  p.  255). 

It  has  been  argued  by  some  (and  notably  by  Light- 


Sec.  4.      The  Church  in  the  Province  of  Asia.        275 

foot)  that  Paul  made  a  short  visit  to  Corinth,  during 
the  two  years  of  his  Ephesian  mission.  But  I  fail  to 
find  in  the  words  of  II  Cor.  XII  14,  XIII  i,  any  proof 
of  such  a  visit ;  and  we  must  gather  from  vv.  9,  10, 
that  Paul  resided  in  Ephesus  throughout  the  period 
Oct.  53-Jan.  56.  In  the  latter  part  of  autumn  55 
he  sent  to  Corinth  the  First  Epistle  ;  and  at  that 
time  his  intention  was  to  remain  in  Ephesus  till  Pente- 
cost 56  (XVI  8),  and  then  to  go  through  Macedonia 
to  Corinth.  But  this  was  an  alteration  of  a  previous 
plan  to  sail  direct  from  Ephesus  to  Corinth,  thence 
going  to  Macedonia,  and  returning  to  Corinth,  from 
whence  he  should  sail  for  Jerusalem  (II  Cor.  I  16). 
That  intention  was  abandoned,  and  a  letter,  I  Cor., 
was  sent  instead :  the  full  knowledge  of  the  state  of 
things  in  Corinth,  which  is  revealed  in  that  letter, 
was  gained  by  the  report  of  some  envoys  (XVI  17, 
compare  p.  284).  The  abandonment  of  the  plan  was 
doubtless  due  to  the  conviction  that  the  success  of 
the  work  in  Asia  demanded  a  longer  residence.  He, 
therefore,  cut  out  of  his  programme  the  first  of  these 
two  proposed  visits  to  Corinth,  and  restricted  himself 
to  one,  which  he  should  pay  after  a  progress  through 
Macedonia  (I  Cor.  XVI  5).  He  sent  Timothy  and 
Erastus  to  Macedonia,  instructing  the  former  to  go 
on  to  Corinth,  and  informing  the  Corinthians  in  his 
letter,  IV  17,  that  Timothy  was  coming,  "who  shall 
put  you  in  remembrance  of  my  ways  which  be  in 
Christ "  ;  but  he  himself  would  come  at  a  later  date, 
IV  18,  19. 

The  analogy  of  this  case    strengthens    our   interpreta- 
tion   of    the    Galatian    letter    (p.     190).     In    each    case 


2/6  The  Church  in  Asia.  Chap.  XII. 

Paul  had  to  encounter  a  serious  and  dangerous  situation 
in  a  distant  Church.  In  the  case  of  Corinth,  he  could 
not  go,  but  sent  a  substitute  and  a  letter  explaining- 
that  the  substitute  was  on  the  way,  and  the  bearer 
would  give  the  reason  why  Paul  could  not  go  then  ; 
but  he  adds  in  the  letter  a  promise  to  go  later, 
though  "  some  of  them  fancied  that  he  was  not 
coming".  In  the  case  of  Galatia  he  was  able  to  go 
immediately,  and  sent  off  a  hasty  letter  in  front,  the 
bearer  of  which  would  announce  that  he  was  following. 
But  on  the  usual  theory,  Paul,  in  that  serious  emergency 
in  Galatia,  neither  thought  of  going  there,  nor  of 
explaining  that  he  could  not  go. 

No  allusion  to  Timothy  occurs  between  XVIII  5 
(where  he  rejoined  Paul  at  Corinth)  and  XIX  22. 
According  to  the  analogy  of  Luke's  method  (p.  46  f), 
this  shows  that  he  was  understood  by  the  author  to 
have  beea  attached  to  Paul's  service  during  the  inter- 
vening period,  ready  for  any  mission,  such  as  that  to 
Galatia,  or  this  to  Macedonia.  According  to  I  Cor. 
IV  17,  Timothy  was  to  go  on  to  Corinth  :  Luke 
speaks  only  of  Macedonia.  Both  are  correct ;  it  becomes 
clear  from  II  Cor.  that  Timothy  did  not  go  on  to 
Corinth,  and  that  Paul  found  him  in  Macedonia : 
probably  he  met  Titus  on  his  way  back  to  report  to 
Paul  the  result  of  the  first  letter,  and  waited  instructions 
before  going  on.     See  §  7. 

The  plan  of  staying  in  Ephesus  till  Pentecost  was 
interrupted  by  a  popular  riot.  Already  in  the  autumn 
of  55  Paul  spoke  of  the  difficulties  in  Ephesus  caused 
by  the  opposition  of  the  vulgar  populace  (p.  230,  I 
Cor.  XV  32)  ;  and   the  character  of  the  city  shows  how 


Sec.  4.      The  Chtn^ch  in  the  Province  of  Asia.        277 

inevitable  that  was.  The  superstition  of  all  Asia  was 
concentrated  in  Ephesus.  Throughout  the  early  centuries 
the  city  mob,  superstitious,  uneducated,  frivolous,  swayed 
by  the  most  commonplace  motives,  was  everywhere  the 
most  dangerous  and  unfailing  enemy  of  Christianity,  and 
often  carried  the  imperial  officials  further  than  they  wished 
in  the  way  of  persecution.  Moreover,  round  the  great 
Ephesian  temple,  to  which  worshippers  came  from  far, 
many  tradesmen  got  their  living  from  the  pilgrims,  sup- 
plying them  with  victims  and  dedicatory  offerings  of 
various  kinds,  as  well  as  food  and  shelter.  During  the 
year  55,  the  tension  in  Ephesus  grew  more  severe:  on 
the  one  hand,  the  teaching  spread  so  fast  that  Paul  was 
tempted  to  remain  longer  than  he  had  intended  (p.  275) : 
on  the  other  hand,  his  success  only  enraged  and  alarmed 
the  opposing  forces.  "  A  great  door  and  effectual  is 
opened  unto  me,  and  there  are  many  adversaries  "  (I  Cor. 
XVI  9)  :  "  after  the  manner  of  men  I  fought  with  beasts 
in  Ephesus"   {ib.  XV  32,  p.  230). 

The  jnost  sensitive  part  of  "  civilised  "  man  is  his  pocket ; 
and  it  was  there  that  opposition  to  Christian  changes,  or 
"  reforms,"  began.  Those  "  reforms  "  threatened  to  ex- 
tinguish some  ancient  and  respectable  trades,  and  promised 
no  compensation  ;  and  thus  all  the  large  class  that  lived  off 
the  pilgrims  and  the  temple  service  was  marshalled  against 
the  new  party,  which  threatened  the  livelihood  of  all, 

5.  DEMETRIUS  THE  SILVERSMITH.  The  scene 
which  follows  is  the  most  instructive  picture  of  society 
in  an  Asian  city  at  this  period  that  has  come  down  to  us. 
It  is  impossible  here  to  treat  it  so  fully  as  it  deserves; 
and  we  can  only  enumerate  the  more  striking  points,  and 
refer  to  previous  discussions.     A  certain  Demetrius  was  a 


2/8  The  Church  in  Asia,  Chap.  XIL 

leading  man  in  the  associated  trades,  which  made  in  various 
materials,  terra-cotta,  marble  and  silver,  small  shrines  {^naoi) 
for  votaries  to  dedicate  in  the  temple,  representing  the 
Goddess  Artemis  sitting  in  a  niche  or  naiskos,  with  her 
lions  beside  her.  Vast  numbers  of  these  shrines  were 
offered  to  the  goddess  by  her  innumerable  votaries.  The 
rich  bought  and  offered  them  in  more  expensive  materials 
and  more  artistic  form,  the  poor  in  simple  rude  terra-cotta. 
The  temple  and  the  sacred  precinct  were  crowded  with 
dedications ;  and  the  priests  often  cleared  away  the  old 
and  especially  the  worthless  offerings  to  make  room  for 
new  gifts.  The  richer  tradesmen  made  shrines  in  the 
more  expensive  material,  and  silver  was  evidently  a 
favourite  material  among  the  wealthy.  Demetrius,  then, 
must  have  had  a  good  deal  of  capital  sunk  in  his  business. 
He  called  a  meeting  of  the  trades,  doubtless  in  a  guild- 
house  where  they  regularly  met,  and  pointed  out  that  Paul, 
by  teaching  the  worthlessness  of  images,  was  seriously 
affecting  public  opinion  and  practice  over  almost  the 
whole  province  Asia,^  and  endangering  their  business  as 
well  as  the  worship  of  the  goddess.  The  tradesmen  were 
roused  ;  they  rushed  forth  into  the  street ;  ^  a  general  scene 
of  confusion  arose,  and  a  common  impulse  carried  the 
excited  crowd  into  the  great  theatre.  The  majority  of  the 
crowd  were  ignorant  what  was  the  matter ;  they  only 
knew  from  the  shouts  of  the  first  rioters  that  the  worship 
of  Artemis  was  concerned  ;  and  for  about  two  hours  the 

^  I  formerly  erred  as  to  the  sense  of  Asia  in  XIX  26,  27,  Church 
in  R.  E.,  p.  i65. 

2  We  adopt  this  and  some  other  touches  from  Cod.  Bez.,  as  either 
original  or  added  from  a  trustworthy  tradition  :  our  reasons  have 
been  stated  elsewhere. 


Sec.  5.  De7netrius  the  Silversmith,  279 

vast  assembly,  like  a  crowd  of  devotees  or  howling  der- 
vishes, shouted  their  invocation  of  "  Great  Artemis  ".  In 
this  scene  we  cannot  mistake  the  tone  of  sarcasm  and 
contempt,  as  Luke  tells  of  this  howling  mob ;  they  them- 
selves thought  they  were  performing  their  devotions,  as 
they  repeated  the  sacred  name ;  but  to  Luke  they  were 
merely  howling,  not  praying. 

A  certain  Alexander  was  put  forward  by  the  Jews  to 
address  the  mob ;  but  this  merely  increased  the  clamour 
and  confusion.  There  was  no  clear  idea  among  the 
rioters  what  they  wanted :  an  anti-Jewish  and  an  anti- 
Christian  demonstration  were  mixed  up,  and  probably 
Alexander's  intention  was  to  turn  the  general  feeling  away 
from  the  Jews.  It  is  possible  that  he  was  the  worker  in 
bronze,  who  afterwards  did  Paul  much  harm  (II  Tim.  IV  14). 

Our  conception  of  the  scene  assumes  that  the  Bezan 
reading  in  28,  34  {^e'^dXr}  "ApTefit<i)  is  original.  The 
accepted  text,  "  Great  is  Artemis,"  gives  a  different  tone  to 
the  scene  :  that  is  the  quiet  expression  in  which  a  worshipper 
recognises  and  accepts  a  sign  of  the  goddess's  power, 
drawing  an  inference  and  expressing  his  respect  and 
gratitude.  "Great  Artemis"  was  a  common  formula  of 
devotion  and  prayer,  as  is  attested  by  several  inscriptions  ; 
and  it  gives  a  more  natural  and  a  far  more  effective  tone  to 
the  scene. 

Two  of  Paul's  companions  in  travel,  Gaius  and  Aristar- 
chus,  had  been  carried  into  the  theatre  with  the  crowd ; 
and  he  himself  was  on  the  point  of  going  there,  but  the 
disciples  would  not  allow  him,  and  his  friends  among  the 
Asiarchs  sent  urging  him  not  to  risk  himself  among  the 
mob.  It  is  noteworthy  that  Luke,  as  usual,  adds  no 
comments  or  reflections  of  his  own  as  to  the  danger  in 


28o  The  Chinch  in  Asia.  Chap.  XII. 

which  Paul  was  placed.  But  the  slightest  consideration 
suffices  to  show  that  he  must  have  been  at  this  period  in 
the  most  imminent  danger,  with  the  mob  of  a  great  Ionian 
coast-city  raging  against  him.  In  the  speech  of  Demetrius 
are  concentrated  most  of  the  feelings  and  motives  that, 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end,  made  the  mob  so  hostile  to 
the  Christians  in  the  great  oriental  cities.  Paul  himself  says, 
"concerning  our  affliction  which  befell  in  Asia,  that  we 
were  weighed  down  exceedingly,  beyond  our  power, 
insomuch  that  we  despaired  even  of  life"  (II  Cor.  I  8). 
His  immediate  withdrawal  from  Ephesus,  in  the  midst  of 
his  promising  work,  was  forced  on  him. 

It  is  a  question  whether  the  reading  of  some  few  MSS., 
"  Gaius  and  Aristarchus  a  Macedonian,"  should  not  be 
followed.  Gaius,  in  that  case,  would  be  the  native  of 
Derbe  mentioned  in  XX  4.  Luke,  himself  a  Macedonian, 
does  not  omit  the  little  touch  of  national  pride  in 
Aristarchus  ;  but  he  was  not  so  interested  in  the  nation- 
ality of  Gaius.  The  peculiar  phraseology,  with  the  ethnic 
in  singular  {MaKehova)  following  two  names,  and  preceding 
(TvveKhriiiov^,  led  naturally  to  the  change  {MaKeh6va<i),  which 
appears  in  most  MSS.  The  epithet,  "travelling  companions," 
seems  to  point  forward  to  XX  4,  as  we  have  no  reason 
to  think  that  either  Gaius  or  Aristarchus  had  hitherto 
been  companions  of  Paul  on  a  journey.  Prof.  Blass, 
recognising  the  probability  that  Gaius  is  the  travelling 
companion  of  XX  4,  accepts  Valckenaer's  alteration  of 
the  text  in  that  place,  making  Gaius  a  Thessalonian, 
and  Timothy  a  man  of  Derbe  ;  and  that  alteration  would 
be  very  tempting,  were  it  not  for  the  insurmountable 
statement,  XVI    i,  that  Timothy  was  a  Lystran. 

The  reference  to  the  Asiarchs  is  very  important,  both 


Si:c.  5.  Demetrius  the  Silversmith.  281 

in  respect  of  the  nature  of  that  office  (on  which  it  throws 
.great  light,  though  that  opens  up  a  wide  and  disputed 
field),  and  as  a  fact  of  Pauline  history.  The  Asiarchs, 
or  High  Priests  of  Asia,  were  the  heads  of  the  imperial, 
political-religious  organisation  of  the  province  in  the 
worship  of  "Rome  and  the  Emperors"  (p.  134);  and 
their  friendly  attitude  is  a  proof  both  that  the  spirit  of 
the  imperial  policy  was  not  as  }'et  hostile  to  the  new 
teaching,  and  that  the  educated  classes  did  not  share 
the  hostility  of  the  superstitious  vulgar  to  Paul.  Doubtless, 
some  of  the  Asiarchs  had,  in  the  ordinary  course  of  dignity, 
previously  held  priesthoods  of  Artemis  or  other  city  deities ; 
and  it  is  quite  probable  that  up  to  the  present  time  even 
the  Ephesian  priests  were  not  at  all  hostile  to  Paul.  The 
eclectic  religion,  which  was  fashionable  at  the  time,  re- 
garded new  forms  of  cult  with  equanimity,  almost  with 
friendliness  ;  and  the  growth  of  each  new  superstition  only 
added  to  the  influence  of  Artemis  and  her  priests.  My 
friend,  Mr.  J.  N.  Farquhar,  Principal  of  the  L.M.S. 
College,  Calcutta,  writes  that  he  is  struck  with  similar  facts 
in  the  situation  of  mission  work  in  India,  and  its  relation 
to  the  priests  and  people. 

Luke,  having  stated  the  accusation  against  Paul,  does 
not  fail  to  show  up  its  utter  groundlessness  in  the  eyes 
of  responsible  officials.  The  speech  of  the  Town-clerk, 
which  is  given  at  length,  is  a  very  skilful  and  important 
document,  in  its  bearing  on  the  whole  situation,  and  on 
Luke's  plan  (p.  304  f.).  The  Clerk  was  probably  the  most 
important  official  in  Ephesus,  and  therefore  in  close 
contact  with  the  court  of  the  proconsul,  who  generally 
resided  in  that  city ;  and  his  speech  is  a  direct  negation 
of  the  charges  commonly  brought  against  Christianity,  as 


282  The  Church  in  Asia.  Chap.  XII. 

disloyal  to  the  established  government/  and  disrespectful 
to  the  established  institutions  of  the  State.  He  points, 
out  that  the  only  permissible  method  of  procedure  for 
those  who  have  complaints  against  a  Christian  is  action 
before  the  courts  of  the  province,  or  the  assembly  of  the 
municipality  ;  and  he  warns  the  rioters  that  they  are 
bringing  themselves  into  danger  by  their  disorderly 
action. 

This  address  is  so  entirely  an  apologia  of  the  Christians 
that  we  might  almost  take  it  as  an  example  of  the  Thucy- 
didean  type  of  speech,  put  into  the  mouth  of  one  of  the 
actors,  not  as  being  precisely  his  words,  but  as  embodying 
a  statesmanlike  conception  of  the  real  situation.  At  any 
rate,  it  is  included  by  Luke  in  his  work,  not  for  its  mere 
Ephesian  connection,  but  as  bearing  on  the  universal 
question  of  the  relations  in  which  the  Church  stood  to  the 
Empire  (p.  306).  The  well-known  rescripts  of  Hadrian  to 
Fundanus,  and  of  Antoninus  Pius  to  the  Greek  cities,  take 
their  stand  on  the  same  permanent  and  obvious  ground, 
which  at  all  times  formed  the  one  statesmanlike  principle 
of  action,  and  the  basis  for  the  Church's  claim  to  freedom 
and  toleration. 

1  tfpoo-vXoi,  mistranslated  in  A.V,  and  K.V,  as  "  robbers  of 
temples  ", 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE   VOYAGE    TO   JERUSALEM. 

I.  THE  SECOND  EUROPEAN  JOURNEY.  (XXl) 
AND  AFTER  THE  RIOT  CEASED,  PAUL,  HAVING  SENT 
FOR  THE  DISCIPLES  AND  EXHORTED  THEM,  BADE 
THEM  FAREWELL,  AND  DEPARTED  TO  MAKE  HIS  WAY 
INTO  MACEDONIA.  (2)  AND  HAVING  MADE  A  PROGRESS 
THROUGH  THOSE  QUARTERS,  AND  EXHORTED  THEM 
WITH  MUCH  PREACHING,  HE  WENT  INTO  GREECE.  (3) 
AND   HE   SPENT   THREE   MONTHS    there. 

Paul  took  a  coasting  vessel  from  Ephesus,  we  may  be 
sure ;  and,  as  was  often  the  case,  he  had  to  transship  in 
Troas.  Here  "a  door  was  opened  to  him"  (II  Cor. 
II  12).  Doubtless  he  had  to  wait  some  time  for  a 
passage  to  Macedonia;  for,  though  in  January  a  passage 
could  be  easily  obtained  along  the  safe  Asian  coast,  it 
was  more  difficult  to  find  opportunity  for  the  longer 
voyage  over  the  open  sea  to  Macedonia;  perhaps  none 
was  found  till  general  navigation  began,  March  5.  It 
is  probable  that  already  in  the  voyages  between  Ephesus 
and  Macedonia,  the  new  teaching  had  effected  a  lodging 
in  Troas  (XIX  10)  ;  and  in  the  delay  there,  Paul  had  a 
good  opening.  In  Troas  Paul  had  expected  to  meet 
Titus ;  and  was  much  disappointed  that  he  was  not 
there.  At  the  same  time  he  was  greatly  dispirited  by 
the  strong  opposition  which  had  driven  him  prematurely 

(2S3) 


284  The    Voyage  to  Jertisalem.        Chap.  XIII. 

from  Ephesus  (II  Cor.  I  8f.);  and  was  in  a  depressed 
frame  of  mind  owing  to  ill-health  {ib.  IV  7  f.). 

Titus  is  the  most  enigmatic  figure  in  early  Christian 
history.  His  omission  from  Acts  has  been  alluded  to 
(p.  59).  He  enters  on  the  stage  of  history  for  a  short 
time  in  A.D.  45-6,  and  then  we  hear  nothing  of  him, 
until  we  learn  that  Paul  expected  to  find  him  in  Troas 
in  January  or  February  56.  He  was  now  on  his  way 
from  Corinth  to  Macedonia ;  and  he  joined  Paul  after 
he  had  arrived  at  Philippi  in  February  or  March,  bring- 
ing a  detailed  report  of  the  state  of  the  Corinthian 
Church.  Now  in  II  Cor.  Titus  is  prominent  to  a  degree 
unique  in  Paul's  letters ;  he  is  named  nine  times,  and 
always  with  marked  affection  and  distinction.  Why,  then,  is 
he  never  mentioned  in  I  Cor.  ?  There  is  one  satisfactory 
reason,  and  only  one,  so  far  as  I  can  judge :  he  was  the 
bearer  of  the  first  letter.^  His  special  interest  in  Corinth 
is  mentioned,  VII  15,  VIII  16,  He  was  eager  to  return 
on  a  second  mission  to  Corinth,  VIII  17,  and  along  with 
him  Paul  sent  the  Brother  whose  praise  in  the  delivery 
of  the  good  tidings  was  spread  over  all  the  Churches 
(Luke,  according  to  an  early  tradition),  and  another, 
who  was  selected  on  account  of  the  confidence  that  he 
felt  in  the  Corinthians.  It  may  be  safely  assumed  that 
the  Titus  of  II  Cor.  is  the  same  Titus  that  is  mentioned 
in  Gal.  II  i. 

Titus,  then,  had  been  sent  on  his  first  mission  to 
Corinth  in  autumn  55,  probably  by  direct  ship.  He 
could  not  come  back  across  the  open  sea  during  the 
winter  (Nov.   10  to  March   5),  and  must  take  a  coasting 

^  Suggested  as  possible  by  Dr.  Plumptre  in  Introd.  to  II  Cot.,  p 
359- 


Sec.  I.  The  Second  European  Journey.  285 


voyage  by  Macedonia.  Paul  expected  to  find  him  in 
Troas  ;  but  he  was  detained  too  long,  and  met  Paul  in 
Philippi  in  February  or  early  March  56 ;  and  he  returned 
thence  on  a  second  mission  to  Corinth. 

As  Titus  was  at  hand  in  Ephesus  about  October  55, 
it  is  hardly  open  to  doubt  that  he  had  been  in  Paul's 
company  on  the  whole  of  the  third  journey.  It  is  equally 
clear  that  he  had  not  been  with  Paul  on  the  first  or 
the  second  journey,  for  he  is  mentioned  in  Gal.  II  i  as 
a  stranger  to  the  Galatians,  whose  Greek  birth  had  to 
be  explained  to  them.  Probably  it  was  his  Greek  origin 
that  had  prevented  Paul  from  taking  him  as  a  com- 
panion on  earlier  journeys.  We  have  seen  how  careful 
Paul  was  to  conciliate  the  Jews  on  his  second  journey  ; 
and  we  may  fairly  consider  that  the  grumbling  of  the 
Jews  in  Jerusalem  in  46  (even  when  Titus  was  bringing 
food  to  them)  had  warned  Paul  that  it  was  not  expedient 
to  have  Titus  with  him  when  he  entered  the  synagogues 
of  strange  cities.  For  his  companions  on  the  second 
journey  he  selected  Silas,  a  Jewish  Roman,  and  Timothy, 
half-Greek,  half-Jew.  Finally,  on  his  third  journey, 
when  he  was  putting  down  the  Judaising  tendency  in 
Galatia,  he  took  Titus  with  him  by  a  carefully-planned 
stroke  of  policy  :  one  of  the  arguments  by  which  the 
Judaisers  proved  that  Judaic  Christianity  was'  the  higher 
stage  was  that  Paul  had  circumcised  Timothy  before 
promoting  him  to  an  office  of  trust.  He  replied  by 
taking  Titus  with  him  to  Galatia;  and  from  II  Cor. 
we  gather  that  Titus  proved  one  of  the  most  congenial 
and  useful  of  his  assistants.  The  space  which  he  fills 
in   II   Cor}  is  a  unique  fact  in  Paul's  letters;  and  in  the 

1 II  13,  VII  6  f.,  13  f.,  VIII  6  f.,  16-24,  XII  18. 


286  The   Voyage  to  Jei'-usalem.        Chap.  XIII. 

loving  and  tender  sympathy  of  Paul's  language  about 
him  we  may  read  a  wish  to  compensate  for  the  neglect 
that  had  during  many  years  sacrificed  him  to  the 
thankless  policy  of  conciliating  the  Jews. 

The  importance  of  Titus  in  subsequent  years  confirms 
the  impression  derived  from  II  Cor.  He  seems  to  have 
remained  in  Europe  when  Paul  went  to  Jerusalem  in 
March  57.  At  a  later  time  he  was  sent  to  Dalmatia, 
II  Tim.  IV  10  ;  and  near  the  end  of  Paul's  career  he 
was  entrusted  with  the  general  oversight  of  the  Churches 
in  Crete,   Tit.  I   5. 

Paul  spent  the  summer  and  autumn  of  56  in  Macedonia. 
He  found  Timothy  waiting  him  either  in  Thessalonica 
or  in  Beroea  ;  and  they  joined  in  addressing  the  second 
letter  to  the  Corinthians,  enforcing  in  a  more  personal 
way  the  instructions  already  sent  through  the  three 
envoys  who  had  come  from  Philippi.  The  common  view 
(which  is  as  old  as  the  subscription  added  in  some  MSS. 
to  the  letter),  that  the  envoys  carried  with  them  II  Cor.^ 
seems  improbable.  In  winter  Paul  went  on  to  Hellas 
(the  Greek  term  for  the  country  forming  the  main  part 
of  the  Roman  province),  and  spent  December,  January, 
and  February  in  Corinth. 

2.  THE  CONTRIBUTION  OF  THE  FOUR  PRO- 
VINCES. (3)  AND  WHEN  HE  HAD  SPENT  THREE 
MONTHS,  AND  A  PLOT  WAS  LAID  AGAINST  HIM  BY  THE 
JEWS  WHILE  HE  WAS  ON  THE  POINT  OF  SETTING  SAIL 
FOR  SYRIA,  HE  ADOPTED  THE  PLAN  OF  MAKING  HIS 
RETURN  JOURNEY  to  Jerusalem  THROUGH  MACEDONIA. 
(4)  AND  THERE  ACCOMPANIED  HIM  OH  the  joumey  to 
Jerusalem  SOPATER,  SON  OF  PYRRHUS  OF  BERCEA,  AND 
Oti    the  part  OF   THE   THESSALONIANS   ARISTARCHUS    AND 


Sec.  2.     Contribution  of  the  Four  Provinces.        287 

SECUNDUS,  AND  GAIUS  OF  DERBE  AND  TIMOTHY,  AND 
THE  ASIANS  TYCHICUS  AND  TROPHIMUS  (NOW  THESE 
Asian  delegates,  COMING  TO  MEET  US,  AWAITED  US  IN 
TROAS).  (5)  AND  WE  SAILED  AWAY  FROM  PHILIPPI 
AFTER  THE  DAYS  OF  UNLEAVENED  BREAD,  AND  CAME 
UNTO   THEM   TO   TROAS. 

At  the  Opening  of  navigation,  Paul  had  arranged  to 
sail  from  Corinth  to  Jerusalem,  obviously  with  the  inten- 
tion of  celebrating  the  Passover  there ;  but  the  discovery 
of  a  Jewish  plot  to  kill  him  altered  his  plans.  The 
style  of  this  plot  can  be  easily  imagined.  Paul's  in- 
tention must  have  been  to  take  a  pilgrim  ship  carrying 
Achaian  and  Asian  Jews  to  the  Passover  (p.  264). 
With  a  shipload  of  hostile  Jews,  it  would  be  easy  to 
find  opportunity  to  murder  Paul.  He  therefore  aban- 
doned the  proposed  voyage  and  sailed  for  Macedonia, 
where  he  easily  arrived  in  time  to  celebrate  the  Pass- 
over in  Philippi. 

It  is  clear  that  the  plot  was  discovered  at  the  last 
moment,  when  delegates  from  the  Churches  had  already 
a5sembled.  The  European  delegates  were  to  sail  from 
Corinth,  the  Asian  from  Ephesus,  where  doubtless  the 
pilgrim  ship  would  call  (as  in  53,  p.  264).  When  the 
plan  was  changed,  word  was  sent  to  the  Asian  delegates  ; 
and  they  went  as  far  as  Troas  to  meet  '  the  others, 
for  in  ancient  voyages  it  could  be  calculated  with 
certainty  that  Paul's  company  would  put  in  at  that 
harbour. 

The  purpose  of  this  numerous  company  is  not  stated 
in  this  part  of  the  text;  but  in  XXIV  17,  Paul  says: 
"  I  came  to  bring  alms  to  my  nation,  and  offerings," 
and   the   reason   is   often   alluded   to   in    the  Epistles    to 


2  88  The    Voyage  to  Jerusalem.        Chap.  XIII. 

Corinth  and  Rome.  In  Rom.  XV  25,  written  from 
Corinth  about  Jan.  57,  Paul  says  :  "  Now  I  go  unto 
Jerusalem,  acting  as  an  administrator  of  relief  to  the 
saints  ".  The  scheme  of  a  general  contribution  collected 
week  by  week  for  a  long  time  in  all  the  Pauline 
Churches  of  Galatia,  Asia,  Macedonia,  and  Achaia, 
has  been  well  described  by  Mr.  Kendall  {Expositor, 
Nov.  1893,  P-  321).  The  great  importance  which  Paul 
attached  to  this  contribution,  and  to  the  personal 
distribution  of  the  fund  (BtaKovla),  is  attested,  not  merely 
by  the  long  and  careful  planning  of  the  scheme,  and 
by  the  numerous  body  of  delegates  who  carried  it 
to  Jerusalem,  but  also  by  his  determination  to  conduct 
the  delegates  personally,  in  spite  of  all  the  dangers 
which,  as  he  knew,  awaited  him  there :  "I  go  con- 
strained by  the  Spirit  unto  Jerusalem,  not  knowing 
what  shall  befall  me  there,  save  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
testifieth  unto  me  in  every  city,  saying  that  bonds 
and  afflictions  await  me  ".  It  is  evident  that  he 
thought  this  scheme  the  crowning  act  of  his  work  in 
these  four  provinces  ;  and  as  soon  as  it  was  over,  his 
purpose  was  to  go  to  Rome  and  the  West  (p.  255), 
and  cease  for  the  time  his  work  in  the  Eastern  provinces 
(XX  25). 

The  scheme  is  not  alluded  to  in  the  letter  to  the 
Galatian  Churches  :  but  it  seems  to  have  been  inaugu- 
rated there  by  oral  instructions  during  the  third  visit 
(I  Cor.  XVI  i).  The  mission  of  Timothy  and  of 
Titus  in  56  doubtless  helped  to  carry  it  out  in  Europe. 
Luke  evidently  took  it  up  with  special  zeal,  and  he 
was  from  an  early  date  selected  as  one  of  the  adminis- 
trators   who    were    to    carry    it    to    Jerusalem    (II    Cor. 


Sec.  2.    Contribution  of  the  Four  Provinces.         289 


VIII  19).  In  the  list,  v.  4,  Luke  omits  his  own  name, 
but  suggests  his  presence  by  his  familiar  device.  No 
representative  from  Achaia  is  on  the  list  ;  but  perhaps 
we  may  understand  that  the  Corinthians  had  asked 
Paul  himself  to  bear  their  contribution,  the  amount 
of  which  he  praises  (II    Cor.    IX   2). 

In  V.  4  we  have  probably  a  case  like  XVI  19  f,  in 
which  the  authority  hesitated  between  two  constructions, 
and  left  an  unfinished  sentence  containing  elements  of 
two  forms.  The  facts  were  probably  as  stated  in  our 
rendering ;  and  it  would  lead  too  far  to  discuss  the 
sentence,  which  perhaps  never  received  the  author's 
final    revision. 

3.  THE  VOYAGE  TO  TROAS.  (XX  6)  WE  SAILED 
AWAY  FROM  PHILIPPI  AFTER  THE  DAYS  OF  UN- 
LEAVENED BREAD,  AND  OAME  UNTO  THEM  TO  TROAS 
IN  FIVE  DAYS  ;  AND  THERE  WE  TARRIED  SEVEN  DAYS. 
(7)  AND  ON  THE  FIRSt  DAY  OF  THE  WEEK  WHEN 
WE  WERE  GATHERED  TpGETHER  TO  BREAK  BREAD, 
PAUL  DISCOURSED  WITH  THEM,  BEING  ABOUT  TO  DE- 
PART ON  THE  MORROW  ;  AND  HE  PROLONGED  HIS 
SPEECH  UNTIL  MIDNIcriT.  .  .  .  (13)  AND  WE,  GOING 
BEFORE   TO   THE   SHIP,   SET   SAIL   FOR   ASSOS. 

In  A.D.   57   Passover  fjbll  on  Thursday,  April  7.     The 
company  left  Philippi  oh  the  morning  of  Friday,   April    xAt-- 
IS,  and  the  journey   to  Troas   lasted    till    theHfifth   day,    (fV^      « 
Tuesday,    April    19.     In    Troas   they  stayed   seven   days,     ^   ^f^ 
the   first   of  which  was  April   19,  and   the  last,   Monday,       etff^Tf- 
April   25.     Luke's  rule  is  to  state  first  the  whole  period 
of  residence,   and    then    some    details    of   the    residence 
(see    pp.     153,    256,    and    XIX     10).     On    the     Sunday 
evening    just   before   the    start,   the    whole    congregation 

19 


V 


290  The   Voyage  to  Jerusalem.       Chap.  XIII. 


at  Troas  met  for  the  Agape  ;  religious  services  were 
conducted  late  into  the  night ;  and  in  the  early  morn- 
ing of  Monday  the  party  went  on  board  and  set  sail. 
In  A.D.  56,  58,  59,  the  incidence  of  Passover  is  not 
reconcilable  with  Luke's  statistics  ;  as  is  apparent  from 
the  attempts  that  have  been  made  to  torture  his  words 
into  agreement.     (Luke  now  rejoins  Paul,  p.  201.) 

4.  EUTYCHUS.  (XX  7)  AND  UPON  THE  FIRST  DAY 
OF  THE  WEEK,  WHEN  WE  WERE  GATHERED  TOGETHER 
TO  BREAK  BREAD,  PAUL  DISCOURSED  TO  THEM,  IN- 
TENDING TO  GO  AWAY  ON  THE  MORROW  ;  AND  HE 
PROLONGED  HIS  SPEECH  UNTIL  MIDNIGHT.  (8)  AND 
THERE  WERE  MANY  LIGHTS  IN  THE  UPPER  CHAMBER, 
WHERE  WE  WERE  GATHERED  TOGETHER.  (9)  AND 
THERE  SAT  IN  THE  WINDOW  A  CERTAIN  YOUNG  MAN 
NAMED  EUTYCHUS,  WHO  WAS  GRADUALLY  OPPRESSED 
BY  SLEEP  AS  PAUL  EXTENDED  HIS  DISCOURSE  FURTHER, 
AND  BEING  BORNE  DOWN  BY  HIS  SLEEP  HE  FELL 
FROM  THE  THIRD  STORY  TO  THE  GROUND,  AND  WAS 
LIFTED  UP  DEAD.  (lO)  AND  PAUL  WENT  DOWN  AND 
FELL  ON  HIM,  AND  EMBRACING  HIM  SAID,  "MAKE  YE 
NO  ADO;  FOR  HIS  LIFE  IS  IN  HIM".  (ll)  AND  HE 
WENT  UP,  AND  BROKE  BREAD  AND  ATE,  AND  TALKED 
WITH  THEM  A  LONG  WHILE,  EVEN  TILL  BREAK  OF 
DAY  ;  AND  THUS  HE  DEPARTED.  (l2)  AND  THEY 
BROUGHT  THE  LAD  ALIVE,  AND  WERE  NOT  A  LITTLE 
COMFORTED.  (13)  BUT  WE,  GOING  BEFORE  TO  THE 
SHIP,  SET  SAIL  FOR  ASSOS,  INTENDING  TO  TAKE  PAUL. 
ON  BOARD  FROM  THENCE  ;  FOR  SO  HE  HAD  ARRANGED, 
INTENDING    HIMSELF    TO    GO    BY    LAND. 

In  this  case  the  author  vouches  that  Eutychus  was  dead,, 
implying   apparently  that,  as   a   physician,  he   had   satis- 


Sec.  4.  Eutychus.  291 

fied  himself  on  the  point.  In  XIV  19  he  had  no 
authority  for  asserting  that  Paul  was  dead,  but  only 
that  his  enemies  considered  him  dead. 

The  sequence  of  the  narrative  is  remarkable  :  the  young 
man  fell :  Paul  declared  he  was  not  dead  :  Paul  went 
upstairs  again,  partook  of  the  common  meal  (conceived 
here  as  a  sacrament),  and  conversed  till  break  of  day : 
they  brought  the  young  man  living.  But  the  inter- 
ruption of  the  story  of  Eutychus's  fate  is  intentional. 
The  narrator  was  present  in  the  upper  chamber,  and 
saw  Eutychus  fall,  and  heard  Paul  declare  that  he 
was  not  dead  ;  but  he  does  not  claim  to  have  been 
a  witness  of  the  man's  recovery,  and  he  marks  the 
difference  by  a  break  in  the  narrative.  The  ship, 
having  to  round  the  projecting  cape  Lectum,  would 
take  longer  time  to  reach  Assos  than  the  land  journey 
required  ;  and  Paul  stayed  on  to  the  last  moment, 
perhaps  to  be  assured  of  Eutychus's  recovery,  while 
the  other  delegates  went  on  ahead  in  the  ship.  Thus 
the  fact  that  Eutychus  recovered  is  in  a  sense  the 
final  incident  of  the  stay  at  Troas.  The  Bezan  reading 
makes  the  sequence  clearer  :  *'  and  while  they  were 
bidding  farewell,  they  brought  the  young  man  living; 
and  they  were  comforted  ". 

There  is  a  very  harsh  change  of  subject  in  v.  12 ; 
the  persons  who  brought  the  youth  are  not  those 
who  were  comforted  (as  Dr.  Blass  points  out).  A 
similar  change  of  subject,  but  not  quite  so  harsh, 
occurs  in  XIII  2-3.  The  word  "brought,"  not  "carried," 
implies  that  Eutychus  was  able  to  come  with  some  help. 

5.  THE  VOYAGE  TO  CiESAREIA.  (14)  AND 
WHEN     HE     MET     US     AT     ASSOS,     WE     TOOK     HIM     ON 


292  The    Voyage  to  Jerjisalem.       Chap.  XIII. 

BOARD,   AND    CAME    TO     MITYLENE  ;      (15)     AND    SAILING 

FROM   THENCE   ON   THE   FOLLOWING   DAY,   WE    REACHED 

a   point    on    the    mainland   OPPOSITE    CHIOS ;    AND    ON 

THE     MORROW     WE     STRUCK     ACROSS     TO     SAMOS,     AND 

[AFTER   MAKING   A   STAY  AT   TROGYLLIA]   ON    THE    NEXT 

DAY     WE     CAME     TO     MILETUS.        (16)     FOR     PAUL     HAD 

DECIDED   TO   SAIL   PAST    EPHESUS,    TO    AVOID    SPENDING 

TIME   IN   ASIA;^   FOR   HE   WAS   HASTENING,    IF    IT    WERE 

POSSIBLE   FOR   HIM,   TO   BE   AT  JERUSALEM    THE    DAY   OF 

PENTECOST.      (17)    AND     FROM     MILETUS     HE     SENT     TO 

EPHESUS,      AND      SUMMONED      THE       ELDERS      OF      THE 

CHURCH.      (18)   AND   WHEN    THEY   WERE   COME    TO    HIM, 

HE   SAID   UNTO   THEM.     .     .     .      (36)   AND   WHEN    HE   HAD 

THUS  SPOKEN,  HE  KNEELED  DOWN  WITH  THEM  ALL,  AND 

PRAYED.        (37)   AND    THEY   ALL   WEPT    SORE,   AND    FELL 

ON    PAUL'S    NECK,    AND    KISSED     HIM,   SORROWING   MOST 

OF  ALL   FOR   THE   WORD   WHICH   HE   HAD   SPOKEN,  THAT 

TPIEY    WILL    BEHOLD    HIS    FACE    NO    MORE.        (38)    AND 

THEY    BROUGHT     HIM     ON     HIS    WAY     UNTO     THE     SHIP. 

(XXI     l)     AND     WHEN     IT     CAME     TO      PASS     THAT     WE, 

TEARING   OURSELVES   FROM   THEM,   SET   SAIL,    WE    MADE 

A   STRAIGHT    RUN     TO     COS,    AND     THE     NEXT     DAY     TO 

RHODES,    AND    FROM    THENCE    TO    PATARA    \and   Myra\ 

(2)  AND,  FINDING  A  SHIP  GOING   OVER   SEA   TO   PHCENICE, 

WE  WENT   ON   BOARD   AND   SET   SAIL.      (3)   AND,    HAVING 

SIGHTED  CYPRUS,  LEAVING   IT   ON   OUR   LEFT,  WE   SAILED 

UNTO  SYRIA,   AND   LANDED   AT   TYRE  ;    FOR    THERE    THE 

SHIP  WAS   TO   UNLADE.      (4)    AND     HAVING    FOUND    THE 

DISCIPLES,     WE      TARRIED     THERE     SEVEN     DAYS  ;     AND 

THESE     SAID     THROUGH     THE     SPIRIT      TO      PAUL      NOT 

1  Literally,  "  that  it  might  not  come  to  pass  that  he  spent  time 
in  Asia". 


Sec.  5.  The    Voyage  to  Ccesareia.  293 

TO  SET  FOOT  IN  JERUSALEM.  (5)  AND  WHEN  IT  CAME 
TO  PASS  THAT  WE  HAD  FINISHED  OUR  TIME,  WE 
DEPARTED  AND  WENT  ON  OUR  JOURNEY  ;  AND  THEY 
ALL,  WITH  WIVES  AND  CHILDREN,  BROUGHT  US  ON 
OUR  WAY  TILL  WE  WERE  OUT  OF  THE  CITY.  AND 
KNEELING  DOWN  ON  THE  BEACH,  WE  PRAYED,  (6) 
AND  BADE  EACH  OTHER  FAREWELL  ;  AND  WE  WENT 
ON  BOARD  SHIP,  BUT  THEY  RETURNED  HOME  AGAIN. 
(7)  AND  FINISHING  THE  short  RUN  FROM  TYRE, 
WE  REACHED  PTOLEMAIS  ;  AND  WE  SALUTED  THE 
BRETHREN    AND    ABODE    WITH    THEM    ONE    DAY. 

The  ship  evidently  stopped  every  evening.  The 
reason  Hes  in  the  wind,  which  in  the  ^gean  during 
the  summer  generally  blows  from  the  north,  beginning 
at  a  very  early  hour  in  the  morning ;  in  the  late  afternoon 
it  dies  away ;  at  sunset  there  is  a  dead  calm,  and  there- 
after a  gentle  south  wind  arises  and  blows  during  the 
night.  The  start  would  be  made  before  sunrise  ;  and 
it  would  be  necessary  for  all  passengers  to  go  on  board 
soon  after  midnight  in  order  to  be  ready  to  sail  with 
the  first  breath  from  the  north. 

In  V.  14  our  translation  (agreeing  with  Blass)  assumes 
that  the  reading  awe/SaXev  is  correct ;  but  the  great 
MSS.  read  avve/3a\\ev,  and  perhaps  the  imperfect  may 
be  used,  implying  that  Paul  did  not  actually  enter 
Assos,  but  was  descried  and  taken  in  by  boat  as  he 
was  nearing  the  city.  On  Monday,  April  25,  they 
reached  Mitylene  before  the  wind  fell  ;  and  on  Tuesday 
afternoon  they  stopped  at  a  point  opposite  Chios 
(probably  near  Cape  Argennum).  Hence  on  Wednesday 
morning  they  ran  straight  across  to  the  west  point 
of    Samos,    and    thence    kept    in    towards    Miletus  ;   but 


2  94  ^^^^   Voyage  to  Jerusale77t.       Chap.  XIII. 

when  the  wind  fell,  they  had  not  got  beyond  the 
promontory  TrogylHa  at  the  entrance  to  the  gulf, 
and  there,  as  the  Bezan  Text  mentions,  they  spent 
the  evening.  Early  on  Thursday,  April  28,  they  stood 
across  the  gulf  (which  is  now  in  great  part  filled  up 
by  the  silt  of  the  river  Maeander)  to  Miletus.  Here 
they  found  that  they  could  reckon  on  a  stay  of  some 
days,  and  Paul  sent  a  messenger  to  Ephesus.  The 
messenger  could  not  reach  Ephesus  that  day,  for 
the  land  road  round  the  gulf  made  a  vast  circuit,  and 
the  wind  would  prevent  him  from  sailing  across  to 
Priene  in  the  forenoon.  Moreover,  it  would  take  some 
time  to  land,  and  to  engage  a  messenger.  In  the 
early  afternoon  there  would  arise  a  sea-breeze  blowing 
up  the  gulf  (called  in  modern  times  Imbat,  ifi^drr]<;), 
which  would  permit  the  messenger  to  sail  to  the  north 
side  of  the  gulf.  He  would  probably  land  at  Priene, 
cross  the  hills,  and  thereafter  take  the  coast  road  to 
Ephesus,  which  he  might  reach  during  the  night.  Some 
time  would  be  required  to  summon  the  presbyters  ; 
and  they  could  not  travel  so  fast  as  a  single  chosen 
messenger.  They  would  show  good  speed  if  they  reached 
Priene  in  the  evening  and  were  ready  to  sail  to  Miletus 
with  the  morning  wind.  The  third  day  of  Paul's  stay 
at  Miletus,  then,  was  devoted  to  the  presbyters  ;  and 
we  cannot  suppose  that  the  ship  left  Miletus  before 
Sunday  morning.  May  i,  while  it  is  possible  that  the 
start  took  place  a  day  later. 

On  that  day  they  reached  Cos,  on  May  2  Rhodes, 
May  3  Patara,  May  4  Myra,  and,  probably,  May  7 
Tyre. 

In   Tyre  they  stayed  seven  days,  and   sailed  on  May 


Sec.  5.  The    Voyage  to  Ccesareia.  295 

13  for  Ptolemais,  where  they  spent  the  day,  and  on 
May  14  they  reached  Caesareia.  As  Pentecost  was  on 
May  28,  they  had  still  a  considerable  time  before  them. 
If  Paul  remained  several  days  in  Caesareia,  then,  the 
reason  must  be  that  there  was  still  plenty  of  time  to  do 
so  without  endangering  his  purpose. 

We  reach  the  same  conclusion  from  observing  the 
author's  concise  style.  After  stating  the  object  of  the 
journey  in  v.  16,  he  leaves  the  reader  to  gather  from 
his  silence  that  the  object  was  attained.  The  fact 
was  clear  in  his  own  mind,  and  he  was  content  with 
one  single  incidental  allusion  to  it,  not  for  its  own 
sake  (he  as  a  Greek  felt  little  interest  in  Jewish  festivals), 
but  to  explain  a  point  in  which  he  was  interested, 
viz.,  the  sailing  past  Ephesus  without  touching  there. 

The  statement  in  v.  16  has  led  to  a  common  mis- 
conception that  Paul  was  sailing  in  a  vessel  chartered 
by  himself,  whose  stoppages  he  could  control  as  he 
pleased.  But  if  Paul  had  been  able  to  fix  where  the 
vessel  should  stop,  it  was  obviously  a  serious  waste  of 
time  to  go  to  Miletus  and  summon  the  Ephesian  elders 
thither  ;  the  shorter  way  would  have  been  to  stop  at 
Ephesus  and  there  make  his  farewell  address.  Clearly 
the  delay  of  three  days  at  Miletus  was  forced  on  him 
by  the  ship's  course,  and  the  facts  of  the  journey  were 
these.  From  Neapolis  they  sailed  in  a  ship  bound 
for  Troas.  Here  they  had  to  transship  ;  and  some 
delay  was  experienced  in  finding  a  suitable  passage. 
Paul  would  not  voluntarily  have  spent  seven  days  at 
Troas  :  the  length  of  a  coasting  voyage  was  too  uncertain 
for  him  to  waste  so  many  days  at  the  beginning, 
when    he    was   hastening   to   Jerusalem.     After   a    week, 


296  The   Voyage  to  Jerusalem.       Chap.  XIII. 

two  chances  presented  themselves  :  one  ship  intended 
to  make  no  break  on  its  voyage,  except  at  Miletus, 
the  other  to  stop  at  Ephesus,  The  latter  ship  was, 
for  some  reason,  the  slower ;  either  it  was  not  to  sail 
further  south  than  Ephesus  (in  which  case  time  might 
be  lost  there  in  finding  a  passage)  ;  or  it  was  a  slow 
ship,  that  intended  to  stop  in  several  other  harbours. 
The  shortness  of  the  time  determined  Paul  to  choose 
the  ship  that  went  straight  to  Miletus,  and  "  to  sail 
past  Ephesus " ;  and  the  pointed  statement  proves 
that  the  question  had  been  discussed,  and  doubtless 
the  Ephesian  delegates  begged  a  visit  to  their  city. 

To  Luke  the  interest  of  Pentecost  lay  not  in  itself, 
but  in  its  furnishing  the  reason  why  Paul  did  not  go  to 
Ephesus.  There,  as  in  so  many  other  touches,  we  see 
the  Greek,  to  whom  the  Jews  were  little  more  than 
"  Barbaroi  ". 

We  notice  that  Paul,  having  been  disappointed  in  his 
first  intention  of  spending  Passover  at  Jerusalem,  was 
eager  at  any  rate  to  celebrate  Pentecost  there.  For  the 
purpose  which  he  had  at  heart,  the  formation  of  a  perfect 
unity  between  the  Jewish  and  the  non-Jewish  sections 
of  the  Church,  it  was  important  to  be  in  Jerusalem  to 
show  his  respect  for  one  of  the  great  feasts. 

Modern  discussion  of  the  voyage  to  Caesareia  illus- 
trates the  unnecessary  obscurity  in  which  a  remarkably 
accurate  narrative  has  been  involved  by  over-subtlety, 
want  of  experience  of  rough-and-ready  travel,  and  in- 
attention to  the  peculiar  method  of  Luke  as  a  narrator. 
As  we  have  seen,  only  two  numbers  are  at  all  doubtful  : 
the  length  of  the  stay  at  Miletus,  and  the  duration  of 
the  over-sea  voyage   to    Tyre  ;    but    in    each  case  a  day 


Sec.  5.  The   Voyage  to  CcBsareia.  297 

more  or  less  is  the  utmost  permissible  variation.  We 
find  that  Paul  had  fully  thirteen  days  to  spare  when  he 
reached  Caesareia.  Yet  many  excellent  scholars  have 
got  so  far  astray  in  this  simple  reckoning  of  days  as  to 
maintain  that  Paul  was  too  late.  Even  Weiss,  in  his 
edition  (in  many  respects  excellent),  so  lately  as  1893, 
concludes  that  already  in  Tyre  Paul  found  that  it  was 
impossible  to  reach  Jerusalem  in  time.  Yet,  at  a  pinch, 
the  journey  from  Tyre  to  Jerusalem  could  have  been 
performed  in  four  days. 

The  farewell  speech  to  the  Ephesians,  simple,  pathetic, 
and  characteristic  of  Paul  as  it  is,  contains  little  that 
concerns  our  special  purpose.  Paul  intimates  clearly  that 
this  is  his  farewell  before  entering  on  his  enterprise  in 
the  West :  "Ye  all  shall  no  longer  see  my  face".  With 
a  characteristic  gesture  he  shows  his  hands  :  "  these 
hands  ministered  unto  my  necessities  ". 

Incidentally  we  notice  the  ancient  custom  of  reckoning 
time  :  the  residence  in  Asia,  which  can  hardly  have  been 
more  than  two  years  six  months  at  the  most,  is  estimated 
loosely  as  "  three  years  ", 

The  clinging  affection  which  is  expressed  in  the  farewell 
scene,  and  in  the  "tearing  ourselves  away"  of  XXI  i, 
makes  a  very  pathetic  picture. 

Myra  is  mentioned  on  this  voyage  in  the  Bezan 
Text,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  ship  on 
which  the  company  was  embarked  either  entered  the 
harbour  of  Myra,  or,  at  least,  went  close  to  it  before 
striking  across  the  open  sea  west  of  Cyprus  to  the 
Syrian  coast.  The  voyage  may  be  taken  as  typical 
of  the  course  which  hundreds  of  ships  took  every  year, 
along   a   route   familiar   from   time   immemorial.     It  had 


298  The    Voyage  to  Jerusalem.      Chap.  XIII. 

been  a  specially  frequented  route  since  the  age  of  the 
earlier  Seleucid  and  Ptolemaic  kings,  when,  as  Canon 
Hicks  remarks,  "there  must  have  been  daily  communi- 
cation between  Cos  and  Alexandria".^ 

The  harbour  of  Myra  seems  to  have  been  the  great 
port  for  the  direct  cross-sea  traffic  to  the  coasts  of 
S}  "ia  and  Egypt.  It  was  the  seat  of  the  sailors'  god, 
to  whom  they  offered  their  prayers  before  starting  on 
the  direct  long  course,  and  paid  their  vows  on  their 
safe  arrival  ;  this  god  survived  in  the  Christianised  form, 
St.  Nicholas  of  Myra,  the  patron-saint  of  sailors,  who 
held  the  same  position  in  the  maritime  world  of  the 
Levant  as  St.  Phokas  of  Sinope  did  in  that  of  the 
Black  Sea  (where  he  was  the  Christianised  form  of 
Achilles  Pontarches,  the  Ruler  of  the  Pontos), 

Myra  is  termed  by  the  pilgrim  Saewulf  (as  I  learn 
from  Dr.  Tomaschek)  "  the  harbour  of  the  Adriatic 
Sea,  as  Constantinople  is  of  the  ^gean  Sea"  ;  and 
this  importance  is  hardly  intelligible  till  we  recognise 
its  relation  to  the  Syrian  and  Egyptian  traffic.  The 
prevailing  winds  in  the  Levant  throughout  the  season 
are  westerly  ;  and  these  westerly  breezes  blow  almost 
with  the  steadiness  of  trade-winds.  Hence  the  ancient 
ships,  even  though  they  rarely  made  what  sailors  call 
"  a  long  leg "  across  the  sea,  were  in  the  habit  of 
running  direct  from  Myra  to  the  Syrian,  or  to  the 
Egyptian  coast.  On  the  return  voyage  an  Alexandrian 
ship  could  run  north  to  Myra,  if  the  wind  was  nearly 
due    west ;    but,   if    it   shifted    towards   north-west    (from 

1  Paton  and  Hicks'  Inscriptions  0/  Cos,  p.  xxxiii.  I  should  hardly 
venture  to  speak  so  strongly  ;  but  Mr.  Hicks  is  an  excellent 
authority  on  that  period.   ' 


Sec.  5.  The   Voyage  to  Ccesareia.  299 

which  quarter  the  Etesian  winds  blew  steadily  for  forty- 
days  from  July  20),  the  ships  of  Alexandria  ran  for  the 
Syrian  coast.  The  same  steady  winds,  which  favoured 
the  run  from  Myra  to  Tyre,  made  the  return  voyage 
direct  from  Tyre  to  Myra  an  impossibility.  Hence  the 
regular  course  for  ships  from  Syria  was  to  keep  north- 
wards past  the  east  end  of  Cyprus  till  they  reached 
the  coast  of  Asia  Minor  ;  and  then,  by  using  the  land 
winds  which  blow  off  the  coast  for  some  part  of  almost 
every  day,  and  aided  also  to  some  extent  by  the  current 
.\hich  sets  steadily  westward  along  the  Karamanian 
coast  (as  it  is  now  called),  these  traders  from  Syria 
worked  their  way  along  past  Myra  to  Cnidos  at  the 
extreme  south-western  corner  of  Asia  Minor. 

It  may,  then,  be  safely  assumed  that  Myra  was  visited 
by  Paul's  ship,  as  the  Bezan  Text  asserts.  But  the 
addition  of  "and  Myra"  is  a  mere  gloss  (though  record- 
ing a  true  fact),  for  it  implies  that  the  transshipment 
took  place  at  Myra.  We  need  not  hesitate  to  accept 
the  authority  of  the  great  MSS.  that  Paul  and  his 
company  found  at  Patara  a  ship  about  to  start  on  the 
direct  Syrian  course,  and  went  on  board  of  it  (probably 
because  their  ship  did  not  intend  to  make  the  direct 
voyage,  or  was  a  slower  vessel).  Luke  then  hurries 
over  the  direct  voyage,  mentioning  only  the  fact  which 
specially  interested  him,  that  they  sighted  the  western 
point  of  Cyprus.  He  did  not  mention  Myra  ;  he  was 
giving  only  a  brief  summary  of  the  voyage,  and  for 
some  reason  the  visit  to  Myra  did  not  interest  him. 

Many  circumstances  might  occur  to  deprive  the  visit 
of  interest  and  to  make  Luke  omit  it  (as  he  omits 
many    other    sights)    from    his     brief    summary    of   the 


300  The   Voyage  to  Jerusalem.       Chap.  XIII. 

voyage.  Formerly  I  illustrated  this  by  my  own  experi- 
ence. I  was  in  the  port  of  Myra  in  the  course  of 
a  voyage ;  yet  I  never  saw  either  the  town  or  the 
harbour,  and  would  probably  omit  Myra,  if  I  were  giving  a 
summary  description  of  my  experiences  on  that  voyage. 

At  Tyre  the  vessel  stayed  seven  days  unloading ;  it 
must  therefore  have  been  one  of  the  larger  class  of 
merchant  vessels  ;  and  probably  only  that  class  ventured 
to  make  the  direct  sea  voyage  from  Lycia  by  the  west 
side  of  Cyprus.  Small  vessels  clung  to  the  coast.  As 
the  same  ship^  was  going  on  as  far  as  Ptolemais,  and 
as  there  was  still  abundant  time  for  the  rest  of  the  journey, 
Paul  remained  until  the  allotted  time  of  its  stay  was  over, 
V.  5.  None  of  the  party  seems  to  have  known  Tyre,  for 
they  had  to  seek  out  the  Brethren  there.  The  hearty 
welcome  which  they  received  from  strangers,  whose  sole 
bond  of  union  lay  in  their  common  religion,  makes  Luke 
dwell  on  this  scene  as  showing  the  solidarity  of  feeling 
in  the  Church.  There  took  place  a  kindly  farewell  on 
the  shore  at  Tyre,  as  at  Miletus ;  but  the  longing  and 
sorrow  of  long  personal  friendship  and  love  could  not 
here  be  present  to  the  same  extent  as  there.  The  scenes 
are  similar,  and  yet  how  different !  Such  touches  of 
diversity  amid  resemblance  could  be  given  only  by  the 
eye-witness. 

The  ship  completed  the  short  voyage  to  Ptolemais  early ; 
and  the  party  spent  the  day  with  the  Brethren  ;  and  went 
on  to  Ca^sareia  next  day.  Probably  they  went  in  the 
same  ship.  The  emphasis  laid  on  "  finishing  the  voyage  " 
from  Tyre  to  Ptolemais  is  due  to  the  fact  that  it  was 
probably  over  about  10  A.M. 

Mn  u.  2  "  a  ship,"  in  v.  6  "  the  ship  ". 


Sec.  6.  CcBsai'eia  arid  Jerusalem.  301 

6.  C^SAREIA       AND       JERUSALEM.       (XXI    8)     ON 
THE     IMORROW    WE    DEPARTED,    AND    CAME    INTO    Ci9iS- 
AREIA.      AND,   ENTERING   INTO    THE    HOUSE    OF     PHILIP 
THE   EVANGELIST,    WHO   WAS   ONE    OF    THE    SEVEN,    WE 
ABODE     WITH     HIM.      (9)     NOW     THIS     MAN     HAD     FOUR 
DAUGHTERS,     VIRGINS,      WHICH      DID      PROPHESY.       (lo) 
AND,     AS     WE     TARRIED    THERE     SOME  ^     DAYS,     THERE 
CAME  DOWN   FROM  JUD^A  A  CERTAIN    PROPHET  NAMED 
AGABUS.      (11)   AND   COMING   TO   US   AND   TAKING   PAUL'S 
GIRDLE,    HE   BOUND   HIS    OWN    FEET    AND    HANDS    AND 
SAID  :    "  TPIUS   SAITH   THE   HOLY   SPIRIT,  '  SO   SHALL  THE 
JEWS    BIND    AT    JERUSALEM    THE     MAN    THAT    OWNETH 
THIS   GIRDLE,   AND   DELIVER   HIM   INTO   THE    HANDS    OF 
THE     GENTILES''.      .      .      .      (15)      AND      AFTER      THESE 
DAYS,    WE,     HAVING     EQUIPPED    koi^ses,     PROCLEDED     ON 
OUR     WAY    TO     JERUSALEM.        (16)     AND     THERE     WENT 
WITH   US   ALSO  some  OF  THE   DISCIPLES   FROM   C^SAREIA, 
CONDUCTING     US     TO     the     and  these  conducted  us  where 
house  OF  ONE  MNASON,  AN     we    should  find    entertain- 
EARLY     DISCIPLE,     WHERE     ment ;   and,  reaching  a  cer- 
WE  SHOULD   FIND   ENTER-     tahi  village,  we  were  in  the 
TAINMENT.  (17)  AND  WHEN     house  of  Mnason,    an    early 
WE    ARRIVED    AT    JERUSA-     disciple ;      and     goitig    out 
LEM,'  THE   BRETHREN    RE-     thence  we  catne  to  Jerusalem, 
CEIVED  us  GLADLY.  and  the  Brethren  received  tis 

gladly. 
The  length  of  the  stay  at  Csesareia  is  concealed,  with 
Luke's  usual  defective  sense  of  time,  by  the  vague 
phrase,  v.  10,  7]yukpa<^  TrXeiov^.  The  sense  of  this  ex- 
pression varies  greatly  according  to  the  situation  (cp. 
XXIV  17,  with  XIII  31,  XXVII  20);  but  here  it  is 
not  likely  to  be  less  than  nine  or  ten 

^  Literally,  '*  more  days,"  a  considerable  number  of  days. 


302  The    Voyage  to  Jerusalem.       Chap.  XIII. 

The  party  was  therefore  cutting  down  the  time  for 
the  journey  to  the  utmost.  Evidently  they  desired 
to  remain  as  long  as  possible  with  the  Brethren  ;  and 
the  plan  for  the  journey  was  arranged  for  them,  so  that 
with  Caesareian  guidance  and  help  it  could  be  done  with 
comfort  and  certainty  when  time  necessitated  departure. 
Now,  it  is  an  elementary  principle  of  prudent  living  in 
Southern  countries  that  one  should  avoid  those  great 
exertions  and  strains  which  in  Northern  countries  we 
often  take  as  an  amusement.  The  customs  of  the 
modern  peoples  (whom  we  on  superficial  knowledge 
are  apt  to  think  lazy,  but  who  are  not  so)  show  that 
this  principle  guides  their  whole  life ;  and  it  may  be 
taken  as  certain  that  in  ancient  time  the  same  principle 
was  followed.  Moreover,  Paul  was  accompanied  by  his 
physician,  who  fully  understood  the  importance  of  this 
rule,  and  knew  that  Paul,  subject  as  he  was  to  attacks 
of  illness,  and  constantly  exposed  to  great  mental  and 
emotional  strains,  must  not  begin  his  work  in  Jerusalem 
by  a  hurried  walk  of  sixty-four  miles  from  Csesareia,  more 
especially  as  it  is  clear  from  a  comparison  of  the 
Bezan  with  the  Accepted  Text  that  the  journey  was 
performed  in  two  days.  We  conclude,  then,  that  the 
journey  was  not  performed  on  foot  ;  and  when  we 
look  at  the  words  with  this  thought  in  our  minds  we 
find  there  the  verb  which  means  in  classical  Greek, 
"to  equip  or  saddle  a  horse".  Chrysostom  took  the 
word  in  that  sense  ;^  but  the  modern  commentators 
have  scorned  or  misunderstood  him. 

Some  of  the  Brethren  from  Csesareia  accompanied 
them  as  far  as  a  village  on  the  road,  where  they  stayed 

^  He  says  Xa^ovrts  to.  -nphs  rrjv  ohontopiav  {i.e.,  viro^dyia). 


Sec.  6.  CcBsareia  and  Jerusalem.  2>^2) 

for  a  night  with  Mnason  of  Cyprus,  one  of  the  earliest 
Christian  converts.  The  next  day  the  Brethren  returned 
with  the  conveyances  to  Csesareia,  while  Paul  and  his 
company  performed  the  rest  of  the  journey  (which 
was  probably  not  far)  on  foot.  Time  had  passed 
rapidly,  when  a  convert  of  A.D  30  or  31  was  "ancient" 
in  57  ;  but  the  immense  changes  that  had  occurred 
made  the  Church  of  30  seem  divided  by  a  great  gulf 
from  these  Macedonian  and  Asian  delegates  as  they 
approached  Jerusalem. 

7.     THE     CRISIS     IN     THE     FATE     OF     PAUL     AND 

OF  THE  CHURCH.  From  the  moment  when  Paul 
was  arrested  onwards,  the  narrative  becomes  much  fuller 
than  before.  It  still  continues  true  to  the  old  method 
of  concentrating  the  reader's  attention  on  csrtain  selected 
scenes,  which  are  described  in  considerable  detail,  while 
the  intervening  periods  are  dismissed  very  briefly. 
Thus  XXI  17-XXIV  23  describes  the  events  of  twelve 
days,  XXIV  24-27  of  two  years,  XXV  i-XXVIII  7 
of  about  five  months,  XXVIII  8-11  of  three  months. 
But  the  scenes  selected  for  special  treatment  lie  closer 
together  than  formerly  ;  and  it  is  beyond  doubt  that, 
on  our  hypothesis,  the  amount  of  space  assigned  to 
Paul's  imprisonment  and  successive  examinations  marks 
this  as  the  most  important  part  of  the  book  in  the 
author's  estimation.  If  that  is  not  the  case — if  the 
large  space  devoted  to  this  period  is  not  deliberately 
intended  by  the  author  as  proportionate  to  its  importance — 
then  the  work  lacks  one  of  the  prime  qualities  of  a 
great  history.  It  is  essential  to  our  purpose  to  establish 
that  we  are  now  approaching  the  real  climax,  and  that 
what  has  hitherto   been   narrated  leads   up   to  the  great 


304  The    Voyage  to  Jerusalem.       Chap.  XIII. 

event  of  the  whole  work.  If  we  fail  in  that,  we  fail 
in  the  main  object  for  which  we  are  contending  ;  and 
we  should  have  to  allow  that  Acts  is  a  collection  of 
episodic  jottings,  and  not  a  real  history  in  the  true 
sense  of  the  word. 

It  must  strike  every  careful  reader  that  Luke  devotes 
special  attention  throughout  his  work  to  the  occasions 
on  which  Paul  was  brought  in  contact  with  Roman 
officials.  Generally  on  these  occasions,  the  relations 
between  the  parties  end  in  a  friendly  way :  the  scene 
with  the  proconsul  of  Cyprus  is  the  most  marked  case  ; 
but  Gallio,  too,  dismissed  the  case  against  him,  and 
the  formal  decision  of  a  proconsul  had  such  weight 
as  a  precedent  that  the  trial  practically  resulted  in  a 
declaration  of  religious  liberty  for  the  province. 

To  come  to  subordinate  Roman  officials,  the  "  Praetors  " 
of  the  colony  Philippi,  though  treating  him  severely 
at  first,  ended  by  formally  apologising  and  acknowledg- 
ing his  rights,  and  only  begged  of  him  as  a  favour  to 
move  on — a  request  which  he  instantly  granted.  In 
the  colonies  Antioch  and  Lystra  he  was  treated  severely, 
but  the  blame  is  laid  entirely  on  the  Jews,  and  the 
magistrates  are  not  directly  mentioned  ;  while  in  both 
cases  it  is  brought  out  in  the  narrative  that  condemnation 
was  not  pronounced  on  fair  charges  duly  proved.  But 
though  the  reader's  attention  is  not  drawn  to  the  magis- 
trates, there  can  be  no  doubt  that,  at  least  in  Antioch, 
the  magistrates  took  action  against  Paul  ;  and  there  is 
some  probability  that  in  each  place  he  was  scourged  by 
lictors  (p.  107),  though  these  and  many  other  sufferings 
are  passed  over.  In  the  first  stages  of  his  work  in  Asia 
Minor,  he  was  in  collision  with  Roman  colonial  officials ; 


Sec.  7.         The  Crisis  in  the  fate  of  Paul.  305 

but  these  events  are  treated  lightly,  explained  as  due  to 
error  and  extraneous  influence,  and  the  Roman  character 
of  the  cities  is  not  brought  out.  While  the  picture  is  not 
discoloured,  yet  the  selection  of  details  is  distinctly  guided 
by  a  plan. 

The  clerk  {Grammatens)  of  the  city  of  Ephesus  was 
not  a  Roman  official,  but,  as  the  most  important  officer 
of  the  capital  of  the  province,  he  was  in  closer  relations 
with  the  Roman  policy  than  ordinary  city  magistrates  : 
and  he  pointedly  acquitted  Paul  of  any  treasonable 
design  against  the  State  or  against  the  established  order 
of  the  city,  and  challenged  the  rioters  to  bring  any 
charge  against  Paul  before  the  Roman  Courts.  The 
Asiarchs,  who  were  officials  of  the  province,  and  there- 
fore part  of  the  Roman  political  system,  were  his  friends, 
and  showed  special  care  to  secure  his  safety  at  that 
time.  Even  the  jailor  at  Philippi  was  an  officer  of 
Rome,  though  a  very  humble  one ;  and  he  found  Paul 
a  friend  in  need,  and  became  a  friend  in  turn. 

The  magistrates  of  ordinary  Greek  cities  were  not 
so  favourable  to  Paul  as  the  Roman  officials  are 
represented.  At  Iconium  they  took  active  part  against 
him  ;  and  the  silence  about  the  magistrates  of  the 
colonies  Antioch  and  Lystra  is  made  more  marked 
by  the  mention  of  those  of  Iconium.  At  Thessalonica 
the  magistrates  excluded  him  from  the  city  as  a  cause 
of  disorder.  At  Athens  the  Areopagus  was  contemptuous 
and  undecided.  The  favourable  disposition  of  Roman 
officials  towards  Paul  is  made  more  prominent  by  the 
different  disposition  of  the  ordinary  municipal  authorities. 

These   facts   acquire  more   meaning  and   more  definite 

relation  to  the  historian's  purpose  when  we  come  to  the 

20 


o 


06  The    Voyage  to  Jerusalem.       Chap.  XIIL 


last  scenes  of  the  book.  We  cannot  but  recognise  how 
pointedly  the  Imperial  officials  are  represented  as  Paul's 
only  safeguard  from  the  Jews,  and  how  their  friendly 
disposition  to  him  is  emphasised.  Even  Felix,  one  of  the 
worst  of  Roman  officials,  is  affected  by  Paul's  teaching, 
and  on  the  whole  protects  Paul,  though  his  sordid 
motives  are  not  concealed,  and  he  finally  left  Paul 
bound,  as  "  desiring  to  gain  favour  with  the  Jews," 
XXIV  27  ;  but  at  least  there  was  no  official  action  on 
the  part  of  Felix  against  him.  F-^^tus,  his  successor,  is 
described  as  just  and  fair  towards  Paul ;  he  found  in 
him  "nothing  worthy  of  death,"  and  had  difficulty  in 
discovering  any  definite  charge  against  him  that  he 
could  report  when  sending  him  for  trial  before  the 
supreme  court  of  the  Empire.  The  inferior  officials,  from 
the  tribune  Claudius  Lysias,  to  the  centurion  Julius,  are 
represented  as  very  friendly.  This  is  all  the  more  marked, 
because  nothing  is  said  at  any  stage  of  the  proceedings  of 
kindness  shown  to  Paul  by  any  others ;  yet  no  one  can 
doubt  that  the  household  of  Philip  and  the  general  body 
of  Christians  in  Caesareia  tried  to  do  everything  possible 
for  him.  We  see  then  that  the  historian,  out  of  much  that 
might  be  recorded,  selects  for  emphasis  the  friendliness  of 
the  Roman  officials :  in  the  climax  of  his  subject  he  con- 
centrates the  reader's  attention  on  the  conduct  of  Romans 
to  Paul,^  and  on  their  repeated  statements  that  Paul  was 
innocent  in  the  eyes  of  Roman  Imperial  law  and  policy. 
Throughout  the  whole  book,  from  the  time  when  the 
centurion  Cornelius  is  introduced,  great   art  is  shown   in 

^  Luke  says  nothing  about  l«ndness  shown  to  Paul  by  James 
and  others  in  Jerusalem;  but  we  do  not  (like  Dean  Farrar)  gather 
that  they  were  unfriendly. 


Sec.  7.         The  Crisis  in  the  fate  of  Paul.  307 

bringing  out  without  any  formal  statement  the  friendly 
relations  between  the  Romans  and  the  new  teaching, 
even  before  Paul  became  the  leading  spirit  in  its 
development.  To  a  certain  extent,  of  course,  that  lies 
in  the  subject  matter,  and  the  historian  simply  relates 
the  facts  as  they  occurred,  without  colouring  them  for 
his  purpose  ;  but  he  is  responsible  for  the  selection  of 
details,  and  while  he  has  omitted  an  enormous  mass  of 
details  (some  of  which  we  can  gather  from  other  inform- 
ants), he  has  included  so  many  bearing  on  this  point, 
as  to  show  beyond  all  question  his  keen  interest  in  it. 

Further,  when  we  compare  Luke  with  other  authorities 
in  their  treatment  of  the  same  subject,  we  see  how 
much  more  careful  he  is  than  they  in  bringing  out  the 
relations  in  which  Christianity  stood  to  the  Imperial 
government.  In  the  Third  Gospel,  Luke  alone  among 
the  four  historians  records  formally  the  attempt  made 
by  the  Jews  to  implicate  Jesus  in  criminal  practices 
against  the  Roman  Empire,  ^  and  the  emphatic,  thrice  ^ 
repeated  statement  of  Pilate  acquitting  Him  of  all  fault 
(XXIII  2,  4,   14,  22)  before  the  law. 

We  must  conclude,  then,  that  the  large  space  devoted 
to  the  trial  of  Paul  in  its  various  stages  before  the 
Roman  Imperial  tribunals  is  connected  with  a  strongly 
marked  interest  and  a  clear  purpose  running  through 
the  two  books  of  this  history  ;  and  it  follows  that  Luke 
conceived  the  trial  to  be  a  critical  and  supremely 
important  stage  in  the  development  of  the  Church. 

The  next  question  that  faces  us  is  whether  Luke  is 
justified  as  a  historian  in  attaching  such  importance  to 
this  stage  in  the  development  of  Christianity.      Perhaps 

1  Less  formally  in  John  XVIII  30.       ^  Qnce  in  John  XVIII  38. 


3oS  The   Voyage  to  Jerusalem.       Chap.  XIII. 

the  question  may  be  best  answered  by  quoting  some 
words  used  in  a  different  connection  and  for  a  different 
purpose.  "  It  is  both  justifiable  and  necessary  to  lay 
great  stress  on  the  trial  of  Paul.  With  the  legal  con- 
structiveness  and  obedience  to  precedent  that  charac- 
terised the  Romans,  this  case  tried  before  the  supreme 
court  must  have  been  regarded  as  a  test  case  and  a 
binding  precedent,  until  some  act  of  the  supreme 
Imperial  authority  occurred  to  override  it.  If  such  a 
case  came  for  trial  before  the  highest  tribunal  in  Rome, 
there  must  have  been  given  an  authoritative  and,  for 
the  time,  final  judgment  on  the  issues  involved." 

But,  further,  it  is  obvious  that  the  importance  of  the 
trial  for  Luke  is  intelligible  only  if  Paul  was  acquitted. 
That  he  was  acquitted  follows  from  the  Pastoral  Epistles 
with  certainty  for  all  who  admit  their  genuineness  ; 
while  even  they  who  deny  their  Pauline  origin  must 
allow  that  they  imply  an  early  belief  in  historical  details 
which  are  not  consistent  with  Paul's  journeys  before 
his  trial,  and  must  either  be  pure  inventions  or  events 
that  occurred  on  later  journeys.  I  have  elsewhere  argued 
that  the  subsequent  policy  of  Nero  towards  the  Church 
is  far  more  readily  intelligible  if  Paul  was  acquitted. 
But,  if  he  was  acquitted,  the  issue  of  the  trial  was  a 
formal  decision  by  the  supreme  court  of  the  Empire 
that  it  was  permissible  to  preach  Christianity  :  the  trial, 
therefore,  was  really  a  charter  of  religious  liberty,  and 
therein  lies  its  immense  importance.  It  was,  indeed, 
overturned  by  later  decisions  of  the  supreme  court ; 
but  its  existence  was  a  highly  important  fact  for  the 
Christians. 

The    importance    of    the    preliminary    stages    of    the 


Sec.  7.  The  Crisis  in  the  fate  of  Paul.  309 

trial  lies  in  its  issue  ;  and  it  is  obviously  absurd  to  relate 
these  at  great  length,  and  wholly  omit  the  final  result 
which  gives  them  intelligibility  and  purpose.  It  there- 
fore follows  that  a  sequel  was  contemplated  by  the 
author,  in  which  should  be  related  the  final  stages  of 
the  trial,  the  acquittal  of  Paul,  the  active  use  which  he 
made  of  his  permission  to  preach,  the  organisation  of 
the  Church  in  new  provinces,  and  the  second  trial 
occurring  at  the  worst  and  most  detested  period  of 
Nero's  rule.  That  sequel  demands  a  book  to  itself; 
and  we  have  seen  that  the  natural  implication  of  Luke's 
expression  in  Acts  I  i,  if  he  wrote  as  correct  Greek  as 
Paul  wrote,  is  that  his  work  was  planned  to  contain,  a 
least,  three  books. 

This  view  of  Luke's  historical  plan  suits  well  the 
period  at  which  he  wrote.  It  is  argued  in  Ch.  XVII 
§  2  that  he  was  engaged  in  composing  this  book  under 
Domitian,  a  period  of  persecution,  when  Christians  had 
come  to  be  treated  as  outlaws  or  brigands,  and  the 
mere  confession  of  the  name  was  recognised  as  a  capital 
offence.  The  book  was  not  an  apology  for  Christianity  : 
it  was  an  appeal  to  the  truth  of  history  against  the 
immoral  and  ruinous  policy  of  the  reigning  Emperor ; 
a  temperate  and  solemn  record,  by  one  who  had  played 
a  great  part  in  them,  of  the  real  facts  regarding  the 
formation  of  the  Church,  its  steady  and  unswerving 
loyalty  in  the  past,  its  firm  resolve  to  accept  the 
facts  of  Imperial  government,  its  friendly  reception  by 
many  Romans,  and  its  triumphant  vindication  in  the  first 
great  trial  at  Rome.  It  was  the  work  of  one  who  had 
been  trained  by  Paul  to  look  forward  to  Christianity 
becoming  the  religion   of  the   Empire  and   of  the  world 


3 1  o  The   Voyage  to  Jei'usalem.       Chap.  XIII 

who   regarded    Christianity    as    destined   not    to   destroy 
but  to  save  the  Empire. 

8.  FINANCES  OF  THE  TRIAL.  It  has  been  asked 
where  Paul  got  the  money  which  he  required  to  pay 
the  expenses  of  four  poor  men  (XXI  23),  purifying 
themselves  in  the  temple  ;  and  the  suggestion  has  been 
made  that  the  elders  who  advised  him  to  undertake 
this  expense,  followed  up  their  advice  by  giving  him 
back  some  of  the  money  which  the  delegates  from  the 
four  provinces  had  just  paid  over  to  them.  Without 
laying  any  stress  on  the  silence  of  Luke  as  to  any 
such  action,  we  cannot  believe  that  Paul  would  accept  that 
money  for  his  own  needs,  or  that  James  would  offer  it. 
They  were  trustees  of  contributions  destined  for  a 
special  purpose ;  and  to  turn  it  to  any  other  purpose 
would  have  been  fraudulent.  It  is  incredible  that  Paul, 
after  laying  such  stress  on  the  purpose  of  that  contribu- 
tion, and  planning  it  for  years  (p.  288),  should  divert 
part  of  it  to  his  own  use  the  day  after  he  reached 
Jerusalem. 

But  several  other  facts  show  clearly  that,  during  the 
following  four  years,  Paul  had  considerable  command 
of  money.  Imprisonment  and  a  long  lawsuit  are 
expensive.  Now,  it  is  clear  that  Paul  during  the  follow- 
ing four  years  did  not  appear  before  the  world  as  a 
penniless  wanderer,  living  by  the  work  of  his  hands. 
A  person  in  that  position  will  not  either  at  the  present 
day  or  in  the  first  century  be  treated  with  such  marked 
respect  as  was  certainly  paid  to  Paul,  at  Caesareia,  on 
the  voyage,  and  in  Rome.  The  governor  Felix  and 
his  wife,  the  Princess  Drusilla,  accorded  him  an  inter- 
view and    private   conversation.     King   Agrippa   and    his 


Sec.  8.  Finances  of  the   Trial.  3 1 1 

Queen  Berenice  also  desired  to  see  him.  A  poor  man 
never  receives  such  attentions,  or  rouses  such  interest.' 
Moreover,  Felix  hoped  for  a  bribe  from  him  ;  and  a 
rich  Roman  official  did  not  look  for  a  small  gift.  Paul, 
therefore,  wore  the  outward  appearance  of  a  man  of 
means,  like  one  in  a  position  to  bribe  a  Roman  procurator. 
The  minimum  in  the  way  of  personal  attendants  that 
was  allowable  for  a  man  of  respectable  position  was 
two  slaves  ;  and,  as  we  shall  see,  Paul  was  believed  to 
be  attended  by  two  slaves  to  serve  him.  At  Caesareia 
he  was  confined  in  the  palace  of  Herod ;  but  he  had 
to  live,  to  maintain  two  attendants,  and  to  keep  up  a 
respectable  appearance.  Many  comforts,  which  are  almost 
necessities,  would  be  given  by  the  guards,  so  long  as 
they  were  kept  in  good  humour,  and  it  is  expensive  to 
keep  guards  in  good  humour.  In  Rome  he  was  able 
to  hire  a  lodging  for  himself  and  to  live  there,  main- 
taining,  of  course,  the  soldier  who  guarded  him. 

An  appeal  to  the  supreme  court  could  not  be  made 
by  everybody  that  chose.  Such  an  appeal  had  to  be 
permitted  and  sent  forward  by  the  provincial  governor  ; 
and  only  a  serious  case  would  be  entertained.  But  the 
case  of  a  very  poor  man  is  never  esteemed  as  serious ; 
and  there  is  little  doubt  that  the  citizen's  right  of 
appeal  to  the  Emperor  was  hedged  in  by  fees  and 
pledges.  There  is  always  one  law  for  the  rich  man  and 
another  for  the  poor:  at  least,  to  this  extent,  that  many 
claims  can  be  successfully  pushed  by  a  rich  man  in 
which  a  poor  man  would  have  no  chance  of  success. 
In  appealing  to  the  Emperor,  Paul  was  choosing  un- 
doubtedly an  expensive  line  of  trial.  All  this  had 
certainly    been    estimated    before    the   decisive   step   was 


3 1 2  The    Voyage  to  Jerusalem.       Chap.  XIII. 

taken.  Paul  had  weighed  the  cost ;  he  had  reckoned 
the  gain  which  would  accrue  to  the  Church  if  the 
.supreme  court  pronounced  in  his  favour ;  and  his  past 
experience  gave  him  every  reason  to  hope  for  a 
favourable  issue  before  a  purely  Roman  tribunal,  where 
Jewish  influence  would  have  little  or  no  power.  The 
importance  of  the  case,  as  described  in  the  preceding 
section,  makes  the  appeal  more  intelligible. 

Where,  then,  was  the  money  procured  ?  Was  it  from 
new  contributions  collected  in  the  Churches?  That 
seems  most  improbable,  both  from  their  general  poverty, 
from  Paul's  personal  character,  and  from  the  silence  of 
Luke  on  the  point.  Luke  himself  was  probably  a  man 
dependent  on  his  profession  for  his  livelihood.  His 
name  is  not  that  of  a  man  of  high  position.  There 
seems  no  alternative  except  that  Paul's  hereditary 
property  was  used  in  those  four  years.  As  to  the  exact 
facts,  we  must  remain  in  ignorance.  If  Paul  hitherto 
voluntarily  abstained  from  using  his  fortune,  he  now 
found  himself  justified  by  the  importance  of  the  case 
in  acting  differently.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  he  had  for 
the  time  been  disowned  by  his  family,  then  either  a 
reconciliation  had  been  brought  about  during  his  danger 
(perhaps  originating  in  the  bold  kindness  of  his  young 
nephew),  or  through  death  property  had  come  to  him  as 
legal  heir  (whose  right  could  not  be  interfered  with  by 
any  will).  But,  whatever  be  the  precise  facts,  we  must 
regard  Paul  as  a  man  of  some  wealth  during  these  years. 

He  appeared  to  Felix  and  to  Festus,  then,  as  a 
Roman  of  Jewish  origin  of  high  rank  and  great  learning, 
engaged  in  a  rather  foolish  controversy  against  the  whole 
united    power    of    his    nation    (which    showed    his    high 


Sec.  8.  Finances  of  the  Trial.  3 1 3 

standing,  as  well  as  his  want  of  good  judgment).  That 
is  the  spirit  of  Festus's  words,  "  Paul  !  Paul !  you  are  a 
great  philosopher,  but  you  have  no  common  sense  ". 

On  the  details  given  of  the  incidents  in  Jerusalem  and 
Cassareia,  I  shall  not  enter,  I  am  not  at  home  on  the 
joil  of  Palestine ;  and  it  seems  better  not  to  mix  up 
jccond-hand  studies  with  a  discussion  of  incidents  where 
I  stand  on  familiar  ground. 

Note.  Procuratorship  of  Felix.  The  remarkable  con- 
tradiction between  Josephus  (who  makes  Cumanus  governot 
of  Palestine  48-52,  Felix  being  his  successor  in  52),  and 
Tacitus  (who  makes  Felix  governor  of  Samaria  [and 
probably  of  Judaea],  contemporary  with  Cumanus  as 
governor  of  Galilee,  the  latter  being  disgraced  in  52, 
and  the  former  acquitted  and  honoured  at  the  same 
trial),  is  resolved  by  Mommsen  in  favour  of  Tacitus  as 
the  better  authority  on  such  a  point ;  and  most  students  of 
Roman  history  will  agree  with  him. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE   VOYAGE   TO    ROME. 

In  describing  the  voyage  from  Caesareia  to  Malta,  we 
are  guided  by  the  excellent  work  of  James  Smith, 
Voyage  and  Shipwreck  of  St.  Paul  (third  edition,  1 866)  ; 
but  as  there  are  some  points  of  interest  which  he  has 
not  explained  satisfactorily,  we  shall  briefly  describe  the 
voyage,  and  treat  more  elaborately  such  points  as  need 
to  be  added  to  Smith's  results. 

I.  C^SAREIA  TO  MYRA.  A  convoy  of  prisoners 
was  starting  for  Rome  under  charge  of  a  centurion  of 
the  Augustan  cohort,  and  a  detachment  of  soldiers  ;  and 
Paul  was  sent  along  with  it.  He,  of  course,  occupied  a 
very  different  position  from  the  other  prisoners.  He  was 
a  man  of  distinction,  a  Roman  citizen  who  had  appealed 
for  trial  to  the  supreme  court  in  Rome.  The  others  had 
been  in  all  probability  already  condemned  to  death,  and 
were  going  to  supply  the  perpetual  demand  which  Rome 
made  on  the  provinces  for  human  victims  to  amuse  the 
populace  by  their  death  in  the  arena. 

The  cohorts  of  the  Roman  legions  never  bore  sur- 
names, and  it  would  therefore  seem  that  this  "Augustan 
cohort"  was  one  of  the  auxiliary  cohorts,  which  had 
regularly  one  or  more  surnames.  But  the  duty  which  is 
here  performed  by   the    centurion    was    never    performed 

(314) 


Sec.  I.  CcBsareia  to  Myra.  315 


by  an  auxiliary  officer,  but  only  by  an  officer  of  a 
legion.  It  would  therefore  appear  that  an  auxiliary 
officer  is  here  represented  in  a  position  which  he  could 
not  hold. 

But,  when  we  recollect    (i)    that    Luke   regularly    uses 
the  terms  of  educated  conversation,   not   the   strict   tech- 
nical   names,  and   (2)    that   he    was    a    Greek  who   was 
careless  of  Roman  forms  or  names,  we  shall  not  seek  in 
this  case  to  treat  the  Greek   term    {airelpa   ^effaa-ri])   as 
a  translation  of  a  correct    Roman    name  ;    but   we   shall 
look  for  a  body  in  the  Roman  service  which    was  likely 
to  be  called  "the  troop  of  the    Emperor"    by    the   per- 
sons   in  whose    society  Luke   moved   at    the   time.     We 
give   the   answer   to   which    Mommsen   seems   to   incline 
Ber/m    Akad.     Sitzungsber,    1895,    p.    501,    r  'ding    the 
evidence  of  Luke's  style,  but  otherwise  quoting  Mommsen. 
First  we   ask    what    officer    would    be    likely  to   perform 
the    duty  here    assigned   to   Julius.      It   would    naturally 
be    a   legionary  centurion    on    detached    service  for   com- 
munication between  the  Emperor  and  his  armies  in  the 
provinces  (as  described  on  p.   348).     That  the  centurion 
whom  Luke  alludes  to  was  one  of  this  body  is  confirmed 
by   the  fact  that,  when  he   reached    Rome,    he    handed 
Paul  over  to  his  chief.     We  conclude,  then,  that  the  "  troop 
of  the    Emperor "   was   a  popular   colloquial  way  of  de- 
scribing the  corps  of  officer-couriers  ;   and  we  thus  gather 
from  Acts  an  interesting  fact,  elsewhere  unattested  but  in 
perfect  conformity  with  the  known  facts. 

Luke  uses  the  first  person  throughout  the  following 
narrative ;  and  he  was  therefore  in  Paul's  company. 
But  how  was  this  permitted?  It  is  hardly  possible  to 
suppose    that    the    prisoner's    friends    were     allowed     to 


3 1 6  The    Voyage  to  Rome.  Chap.  XIV. 

accompany  him.  Pliny  mentions  a  case  in  point  {Epist. 
Ill  i6).  Paetus  was  brought  a  prisoner  from  Illyricum 
to  Rome,  and  his  wife  Arria  vainly  begged  leave  to 
accompany  him ;  several  slaves  were  permitted  to  go 
with  him  as  waiters,  valets,  etc.,  and  Arria  offered  her- 
self alone  to  perform  all  their  duties  ;  but  her  prayer 
was  refused.  The  analogy  shows  how  Luke  and 
Aristarchus  accompanied  Paul  :  they  must  have  gone  as 
his  slaves,  not  merely  performing  the  duties  of  slaves 
(as  Arria  offered  to  do),  but  actually  passing  as  slaves. 
In  this  way  not  merely  had  Paul  faithful  friends  always 
beside  him  ;  his  importance  in  the  eyes  of  the  centurion 
was  much  enhanced,  and  that  was  of  great  importance. 
The  narrative  clearly  implies  that  Paul  enjoyed  much 
respect  during  this  voyage,  such  as  a  penniless  traveller 
without  a  servant  to  attend  on  him  would  never  receive 
either  in  the  first  century  or  the  nineteenth. 

In  the  harbour  of  Ceesareia  there  was  no  convenient 
ship  about  to  sail  for  Rome  ;  and  the  convoy  was  put 
on  board  of  an  Adramyttian  ship  which  was  going  to 
make  a  voyage  along  the  coast  towns  of  the  province 
Asia.  Communication  direct  with  Rome  might  be  found 
in  some  of  the  great  Asian  harbours,  or,  failing  any 
suitable  ship  in  the  late  season,  the  prisoners  might  be 
taken  (like  Ignatius  half  a  century  later)  by  Troas  and 
Philippi  and  the  land  road  to  Dyrrachium,  and  thence 
to  Brundisium  and   Rome. 

The  direct  run  from  Lycia  to  the  Syrian  coast  was 
often  made,  but  it  is  hardly  possible  that  a  direct  run 
from  Syria  back  to  Myra  was  ever  attempted  by  ancient 
ships.  They  never  ventured  on  such  a  run  except  when 
a  steady   wind   was   blowing  which  could    be   trusted   to 


Sec.  I.  CcEsareia  to  Myra.  317 

last.  But  westerly  breezes  blow  with  great  steadiness 
through  the  summer  months  in  the  Levant ;  and  it  is 
certain  that  ancient  ships  westward  bound  sailed  east 
of  Cyprus,  as  the  Adramyttian  ship  now  did.  Luke 
explains  why  they  sailed  on  this  side  of  Cyprus  ;  and 
he  must,  therefore,  have  expected  to  take  the  other 
side.  Now,  a  sailor  or  a  person  accustomed  to  these 
seas  would  not  have  thought  of  making  any  explana- 
tion, for  the  course  of  the  ship  was  the  normal  one. 
But  Luke  had  come  to  Sidon  from  Myra  by  the  west 
side  of  Cyprus,  a^d  he,  therefore,  was  impressed  with 
the  difference,  and  (contrary  to  his  usual  custom)  he 
gives  a  formal  explanation ;  and  his  explanation  stamps 
him  as  a  stranger  to  these  seas. 

The  ship  worked  slowly  along  the  Cilician  and  Pam- 
phylian  coast,  as  the  sailors  availed  themselves  of 
temporary  local  land  breezes  and  of  the  steady  west- 
ward current  that  runs  along  the  coast.  The  description 
given  in  the  Periodoi  of  Barnabas  of  a  voyage  from 
Seleuceia  in  Syria  to  Cyprus  in  the  face  of  a  prevailing 
steady  westerly  wind,  the  work  of  a  person  femiliar  with 
the  circumstances,  illustrates  perfectly  the  voyage  on  this 
occasion.  The  Adramyttian  ship  crept  on  from  point  to 
point  up  the  coast,  taking  advantage  of  every  oppor- 
tunity to  make  a  few  miles,  and  lying  at  anchor  in  the 
shelter  of  the  winding  coast,  when  the  westerly  wind 
made  progress  impossible. 

Smith  in  his  masterly  work  collects  several  other 
examples  of  the  same  course  which  was  adopted  by 
the  Adramyttian  ship.  Modern  sailing  ships,  even  with 
their  superior  rig,  have  several  times  been  forced  by 
the    steady    westerly   wind   towards   the    north,    keeping 


3 1 8  The    Voyage  to  Rome.  Chap.  XIV. 

east  of  Cyprus,  and  using  the  breezes  which  blow  at 
intervals  from  the  Caramanian  coast. 

In  this  description  there  is  an  addition  made  in  the 
Later  Syriac  version  and  some  other  authorities,  which 
Westcott  and  Hort  put  in  the  margin  as  one  "  which 
appears  to  have  a  reasonable  probability  of  being  the 
true  reading ".  The  ship,  in  this  addition,  is  said  to 
have  spent  fifteen  days  in  beating  along  the  Cyprio- 
Pamphylian  coast.  This  addition  obviously  suits  the 
situation,  and  may  be  unhesitatingly  accepted  as  true, 
whether  as  written  by  Luke  or  as  a  well-informed  gloss. 
Most  probably  it  is  Lukan,  for  Luke  gives  rough  state- 
ments of  the  time  throughout  this  voyage  ;  and  an 
exact  estimate  at  this  point  is  quite  in  his  style.  It 
perhaps  dropped  out  of  most  MSS.,  as  wanting  interest 
for  later  generations. 

If  we  may  judge  from  the  Periodoi  BarnabcB,  the 
coasting  voyage  was  accomplished  comparatively  rapidly 
as  far  as  Myra  (see  also  p.  320). 

In  the  harbour  of  Myra,  the  centurion  found  an 
Alexandrian  ship  on  a  voyage  towards  Italy.  He 
embarked  his  convoy  on  board  of  this  ship.  It  is 
characteristic  of  the  style  of  Luke  that  he  does  not 
mention  the  class  of  ship  or  the  reason  of  its  voyage 
from  Alexandria  to  Italy  ;  but  simply  tells  facts  as  they 
occur.  Now,  Egypt  was  one  of  the  granaries  of 
Rome  ;  and  the  corn  trade  between  Egypt  and  Rome 
was  of  the  first  importance  and  of  great  magnitude. 
There  is,  therefore,  a  reasonable  probability  that  this 
ship  was  carrying  corn  to  Rome  ;  and  this  inference  is 
confirmed  by  Luke  himself,  who  mentions  in  v.  38  that 
the  cargo  was  grain. 


Sec.  I.  CcEsareia  to  Myra.  319 

A  ship-captain  familiar  with  the  Levant  informed  me 
that  he  had  known  ships  going  west  from  Egypt  keep  well 
to  the  north,  in  order  to  avail  themselves  of  the  shelter 
of  the  Cretan  coast.  No  ancient  ship  would  have  ventured 
to  keep  so  much  out  to  sea  as  to  run  intentionally  from 
Egypt  to  Crete  direct,  and  moreover  the  winds  would 
rarely  have  permitted  it ;  but  it  is  probable  that  this 
Alexandrian  ship  had  sailed  direct  to  Myra  across  the 
Levant.  The  steady  westerly  breezes  which  prevented 
ships  from  making  the  direct  run  from  Sidon,  were  favour- 
able for  the  direct  run  from  Alexandria.  Probably  this 
course  was  a  customary  one  during  a  certain  season  of  the 
year  from  Alexandria  to  Italy.  Any  one  who  has  the 
slightest  knowledge  of  "  the  way  of  a  ship  in  the  sea,"  will 
recognise  that,  with  a  steady  wind  near  west,  this  was  the 
ideally  best  course ;  while  if  the  breeze  shifted  a  little 
towards  the  north,  it  would  be  forced  into  a  Syrian  port ; 
and,  as  we  know  from  other  sources,  that  was  often 
the  case. 

As  we  saw  (p.  298),  Myra  was  one  of  the  great  harbours 
of  the  Egyptian  service.  It  is,  therefore,  unnecessary  and 
incorrect  to  say,  as  is  often  done,  that  the  Alexandrian 
ship  had  been  blown  out  of  its  course.  The  ship  was  on 
its  regular  and  ordinary  course,  and  had  quite  probably 
been  making  a  specially  good  run,  for  in  the  autumn  there 
was  always  risk  of  the  wind  shifting  round  towards  the 
north,  and  with  the  wind  N.W.  the  Alexandrian  ships  could 
only  fetch  the  Syrian  coast. 

A  voyage  which  Lucian,  in  his  dialogue  The  Ship,  de- 
scribes as  made  by  a  large  Egyptian  corn-ship,  may  be 
accepted  as  a  fair  description  of  what  might  occur  in  the 
first  or  second  century ;  and  it  illustrates  well  the  course 


320  The   Voyage  to  Rome.  Chap.  XIV. 

of  both  the  Alexandrian  and  the  Adramyttian  ship. 
Lucian's  Ship  attempted  to  run  direct  from  Alexandria 
to  Myra.  It  was  off  the  west  point  of  Cyprus  (Cape 
Akamas)  on  the  seventh  day  of  its  voyage,  but  was  thence 
blown  to  Sidon  by  a  west  wind  so  strong  that  the  ship  had 
to  run  before  it,  On  the  tenth  day  from  Sidon  it  was 
caught  in  a  storm  at  the  Chelidonian  islands  and  nearly 
wrecked  ;  ten  days  from  Sidon  to  the  islands  would 
correspond  to  fully  thirteen  from  Caesareia  to  Myra. 
Thereafter  its  course  was  very  slow  ;  it  failed  to  keep 
the  proper  course  to  the  south  of  Crete  ;  and  at  last  it 
reached  Piraeus  on  the  seventieth  day  from  Alexandria. 

2.  FROM  MYRA  TO  FAIR  HAVENS.  (XXVII  7) 
AND  WHEN  WE  HAD  SAILED  SLOWLY  MANY  DAYS,  AND 
WERE  COME  WITH  DIFFICULTY  OFF  CNIDOS,  AS  THE 
WIND  DID  NOT  PERMIT  our  Straight  course  ONWARDS, 
WE  SAILED  UNDER  THE  LEE  OF  CRETE,  OFF  Cape 
SALMONE  ;  (8)  AND  COASTING  ALONG  IT  WITH  DIFFI- 
CULTY, WE  CAME  UNTO  A  CERTAIN  PLACE  CALLED  FAIR 
HAVENS,   NIGH   TO   WHICH   WAS   A  CITY   LASEA. 

From  Myra  the  course  of  both  the  Adramyttian 
and  the  Alexandrian  ship  would  coincide  as  far  as 
Cnidos.  But  they  found  great  difficulty  in  making 
the  course,  which  implies  that  strong  westerly  winds 
blew  most  of  the  time.  After  a  very  slow  voyage 
they  came  opposite  Cnidos ;  but  they  were  not  able 
to  run  across  to  Cythera  (a  course  that  was  some- 
times attempted,  if  we  can  accept  Lucian's  dialogue 
The  Ship,  as  founded  on  possible  facts)  on  account  of 
strong  northerly  winds  blowing  steadily  in  the  ^gean, 
and  threatening  to  force  any  ship  on  the  north  coast  of 
Crete,  which  was  dangerous  from  its  paucity  of  harbours 


Sec.  2.  From  Myra  to  Fair  Havens.  321 


Accordingly,   the   choice    was  open    either    to   put   in  to 
Cnidos  and  wait  a  fair  wind,  or  to  run  for  the  east  and 
south  coast    of   Crete.     The    latter    alternative   was    pre- 
ferred in  the  advanced    season  ;    and    they    rounded    the 
eastern    promontory,  Salmone    (protected    by   it    from    a 
north-westerly  wind),  and  began  anew  to  work  slowly  to 
the  west  under  the  shelter  of  the  land.     They  kept  their 
course  along  the  shore  with  difficulty  until  they  reached 
a  place  named  Fair  Havens,  near  the  city  Lasea,  which, 
as  Smith  has  shown  conclusively,  is   the   small   bay,  two 
leagues  east  of  Cape  Matala,  still  bearing  the  same  name 
(in"  the  modern  Greek   dialect    Ai^i^e^va^   Ka\o{>^)  ;    and 
there  they  lay  for  a  considerable   time.     It  is  not  stated 
in  the  narrative  why  they  stayed  so  long  at    this    point, 
but  the  reason  is  clear  to  a  sailor    or    a   yachtsman  :   as 
Smith  points  out,  Fair  Havens  is  the   nearest  shelter  on 
the  east  of  Cape  Matala,   whilst    west   of  that   cape  the 
coast  trends   away  to  the   north,   and    no    longer   affords 
any  protection  from  the  north  or  north-west   winds,  and 
therefore   they    could  go  no  farther  so  long  as  the   wind 
was  in  that  quarter. 

The  voyage  to  Cnidos  had  been  slow  and  hard,  and 
the  course  along  Crete  was  made  with  difficulty.  At 
the  best  that  part  of  the  voyage  must  always  have  been 
troublesome,  and  as  the  difficulty  was  unusually  great  in 
this  case  we  cannot  allow  less  time  between  Myra  and 
Fair  Havens  than  from  September  i  to  25.  The  arrival 
at  Fair  Havens  is  fixed  by  the  narrative  ;  and  thus  we 
get  the  approximate  date,  August  17,  for  the  beginning 
of  the  voyage  from  Caesareia. 

3.    THE    COUNCIL.      (XXVII  9)  AND    WHEN    A    LONG 
TIME  ELAPSED,  AND  SAILING  WAS  NOW  DANGEROUS  (AS 


32  2  The    Voyage  to  Rome.  Chap.  XIV. 

THE  FAST  ALSO  WAS  ALREADY  OVER),  PAUL  OFFERED 
HIS  ADVICE  (lO)  IN  THESE  WORDS:  "SIRS,  I  PER- 
CEIVE THAT  THE  VOYAGE  IS  LIKELY  TO  BE  ACCOM- 
PANIED WITH  HARDSHIP  AND  MUCH  LOSS,  NOT  MERELY 
TO  SHIP  AND  CARGO,  BUT  ALSO  TO  OUR  LIVES".  Cll) 
BUT  THE  CENTURION  WAS  INFLUENCED  MORE  BY  THE 
SAILING-MASTER  AND  THE  CAPTAIN  THAN  BY  WHAT 
PAUL  SAID.  (12)  AND,  AS  THE  HAVEN  WAS  BADLY 
SITUATED  FOR  WINTERING  IN,  THE  MAJORITY  of  the 
council  APPROVED  THE  PLAN  TO  GET  UNDER  WEIGH 
FROM  THENCE,  AND  ENDEAVOUR  TO  MAKE  PHCENIX  AS 
A  STATION  TO  WINTER  IN — A  HARBOUR  THAT  FACES 
SOUTH-WEST  AND   NORTH-WEST. 

The  groat  Fast  fell  in  59  on  Oct.  5,  and,  as  Paul 
and  Aristarchus  observed  the  Fast,  Luke  uses  it  as  an 
indication  of  date.  The  dangerous  season  for  naviga- 
tion lasted  from  Sept.  14  to  Nov.  11,  when  all  navigation 
on  the  open  sea  was  discontinued.  The  ship  reached 
Fair  Havens  in  the  latter  part  of  September,  and  was 
detained  there  by  a  continuance  of  unfavourable  winds 
until  after  Oct.  5.  We  might  be  disposed  to  infer  that 
the  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  Oct.  10,  fell  after  they  left 
Fair  Havens,  otherwise  Luke  would  have  mentioned  it 
rather  than  the  Fast,  as  making  the  danger  more  apparent. 
The  picturesque  ceremonies  of  the  Tabernacles  would  have 
remained  in  Luke's  mind  ;  but  at  sea  they  were  not  pos- 
sible ;  and  the  Fast  was  therefore  the  fact  that  impressed 
him,  as  it  was  observed  by  Paul  and  Aristarchus. 

In  these  circumstances  a  meeting  was  held  to  consider 
the  situation,  at  which  Paul  was  prcs,  .it,  as  a  person 
of  rank  whose  convenience  was  to  some  extent  consulted, 
and  whose   experience  as   a   traveller   was   known   to  be 


Sec.  3.  The  Council.  32  3 

sreat      It  is  characteristic  of  Luke's  style  not  to  mention 
formally  that  a   council   was  held.  .  He   goes  straight  to 
what  was   the   important    point    in   his   estimation,    viz., 
Paul's  advice  ;  then   he  explains  why  Paul's  advice  was 
not  taken;  and  in  the  explanation  it  comes  out  m  what 
circumstances   the   advice   was    given.     The   whole   scene 
forms,  in  point  of  narrative  method,  an  exact  parallel  to 
the   interview   at   Paphos    (p.    75)-     We  notice   also   that 
Luke  as  a  mere  servant  could  not  have  been  present  at 
the   council,   and    depended    on    Paul's    report  ;    and   his 
account  follows  the  order  in  which  Paul  would  describe 
the  proceedings.     We  can  imagine  that  Paul  on  coming 
forth    did   not  formally    relate    to    his   two   friends   that 
the    council    met,    that    the    chairman    laid    the    business 
before  it,  and  so  on,  but  burst  forth  with  his  apprehension 
that  "  they  had  made  a  mistake  in  not  taking  the  prudent 

course  ". 

At   the   council   it   is   implied   that   the   centurion   was 
president,    while    the     captain    and    sailing-master    were 
merely   advisers.     To   our   modern    ideas    the   captain    is 
supreme  on  the  deck  of  his  ship  ;   and,  even  if  he  held 
a  meeting  to  decide  on  such  a  point  as  the  best  harbour 
to  lay  up  in,  or  consulted  the  wishes  of  a  distinguished 
officer  in  the  military   service,  yet   the  ultimate  decision 
would  lie  with  himself.     Here  the   ultimate  decision  lies 
with  the  centurion,  and  he  takes  the  advice  of  the  captain. 
The  centurion,  therefore,  is  represented  as  the  command- 
in-  officer,  which  implies  that  the  ship  was  a  Government 
sl^p    and  the  centurion  ranked  as  the  highest  officer  on 
board      That,  doubtless,  is  true  to  the  facts  of  the  Roman 
service.     The   provisioning    of    the    vast    city   of    Rome, 
situated  in  a  country  where  farming  had   ceased  to  pay 


324  The   Voyage  to  Rome.  Chap.  XIV. 

owing  to  the  ruinous  foreign  competition  in  grain,  was 
the  most  serious  and  pressing  department  of  the  Imperial 
administration.  Whatever  else  the  Emperor  might  neglect, 
this  he  could  not  neglect  and  live.  In  the  urban  populace 
he  was  holding  a  wild  beast  by  the  ear  ;  and,  if  he  did 
not  feed  it,  the  beast  would  tear  him  to  pieces.  With 
ancient  means  of  transport,  the  task  was  a  hundred 
times  harder  than  it  would  be  now  ;  and  the  service 
of  ships  on  which  Rome  was  entirely  dependent  was  not 
left  to  private  enterprise,  but  was  a  State  department. 
It  is,  therefore,  an  error  of  the  Authorised  and  Revised 
Versions  to  speak  of  the  owner  (vavKXrjpo^i)  of  this 
Alexandrian  ship  :  ^  the  ship  belonged  to  the  Alexandrian 
fleet  in  the  Imperial  service.  The  captains  of  the  fleet  ^ 
made  dedications  on  account  of  safe  passage  at  Ostia, 
and  Seneca  sat  in  his  house  at  Puteoli  and  watched 
the  advance  ships  sail  in  announcing  the  approach  of 
the  Alexandrian  fleet  {Ep.  Mor.  yy).  Passengers  were 
landed  at  Puteoli  ;  but  cargo  was  carried  on  to  Ostia. 
As  a  general  rule  the  ships  sailed  in  fleets  ;  but,  of 
course,  incidental  reasons  often  kept  one  ship  apart  (as 
we  see  in  XXVIII  II,  and  in  the  opening  of  Lucian's 
dialogue  The  Ship). 

Now,  there  was  not  in  Rome  that  strict  separation 
between  the  naval  and  the  military  services  which  now 
exists.     There   was   only   one   service ;    the  same  person 

^The  owners  of  private  merchant  ships  are  distinguished  as 
tUTTopoi  from  the  captains,  in  a  Delian  inscription,  oi  Karan'kfOvTfs 
tls  Bidvvicw  ffiTTopoi  Koi  vavKKripoi,  Bulletin  de  Corresp.  Hellen.  1880, 
p.  222. 

^ot  vavKXrjpoi  rov  TroptVTiicov  ^AXe^avbpeivov  (ttoXov,  Kaibel,  Inscript. 
Grcec.  in  Italia,  No.  918. 


Sec.  3.  The  Cotmcil.  325 

was  at  one  moment  admiral  of  a  fleet,  at  another 
general  of  a  land  army,  and  an  officer  might  pass  from 
one  branch  to  the  other.  The  land-service,  however, 
ranked  higher,  and  a  legionary  centurion  was  certainly 
of  superior  rank  to  the  captain  of  a  vessel  of  the 
Alexandrian  fleet.  In  this  case,  then,  the  centurion  sat 
as  president  of  the  council.  Naturally,  he  would  not 
interfere  in  navigation,  for  his  life  might  pay  the  for- 
feit of  any  error,  but  the  selection  of  a  port  for  winter- 
ing in  was  more  in  his  line.  Now,  it  was  the  regular 
practice  for  all  Roman  officials,  who  often  had  to  take  re- 
sponsibility in  cases  in  which  they  were  not  competent 
alone  to  estimate  all  the  facts,  to  summon  a  council 
{consilium)  of  experienced  and  competent  advisers  be- 
fore coming  to  a  decision.  Such  was  the  nature  of 
the  meeting  here  described. 

The  centurion,  very  properly,  was  guided  in  this 
matter,  against  the  advice  of  Paul,  by  the  opinion  of 
his  professional  advisers,  who  were  anxious  to  get  on 
as  far  as  possible  before  navigation  ceased  on  Novem- 
ber II,  and  it  was  resolved  to  take  any  fair  oppor- 
tunity of  reaching  the  harbour  of  Phoenix,  which  was 
not  only  further  on,  but  also  better  protected. 

In  the  council-scene,  then,  when  we  put  events  in 
their  sequence  in  time,  and  add  those  facts  of  the 
situation  which  Luke  assumes  as  familiar  to  his  readers, 
we  have  a  vivid  and  striking  incident,  agreeing  with 
the  general  type  of  Roman  procedure,  and  yet  giving 
us  information  about  life  on  board  a  Government 
transport  such  as  we  could  not  find  in  any  other  part 
of  ancient  literature. 

There   has    been    a    good  deal  of  discussion    as  to  the 


326  2 he   Voyage  to  Rome.         Chap.  XIV. 

description  o{  the  harbour  Phoenix,  the  modern  Lutro, 
"the  only  secure  harbour  in  all  winds  on  the  south 
coast  of  Crete  ".  This,  however,  faces  the  east,  not  the 
west.  Smith  tries  to  interpret  the  Greek  words  in  that 
sense ;  but  it  must  be  observed  that  Luke  never  saw 
the  harbour,  and  merely  speaks  on  Paul's  report  of  the 
professional  opinion.  It  is  possible  that  the  sailors  de- 
scribed the  entrance  as  one  in  which  inward-bound 
ships  looked  towards  N.W.  and  S.W.,  and  that  in  trans- 
mission from  mouth  to  mouth,  the  wrong  impression 
was  given  that  the  harbour  looked  N.W.  and  S.W. 

4.  THE  STORM.  (XXVII  1 3)  AND  WHEN  A  MODERATE 
SOUTHERLY  BREEZE  AROSE,  SUPPOSING  THAT  THEY 
HAD  GOT  THEIR  OPPORTUNITY,^  THEY  WEIGHED  AN- 
CHOR AND  SAILED  ALONG  THE  CRETAN  COAST  CLOSE 
IN.  (14)  BUT  AFTER  NO  LONG  TIME  THERE  STRUCK 
DOWN  FROM  THE  ISLAND  A  TYPHONIC  WIND,  WHICH 
GOES  BY  THE  NAME  EURAQUILO.  (15)  AND  WHEN  THE 
SHIP  WAS  CAUGHT  BY  IT,  AND  COULD  NOT  FACE  THE 
WIND,  WE  GAVE  WAY  AND  LET  THE  SHIP  DRIVE.  (16) 
AND,  WHEN  WE  RAN  UNDER  THE  LEE  OF  A  SMALL 
ISLAND,  CAUDA  BY  NAME,  WE  WERE  ABLE  WITH  DIFFI- 
CULTY TO  HAUL  IN  THE  BOAT.  (17)  AND  HAVING 
SECURED  IT,  THEY  ATTEMPTED  TO  EASE  THE  SHIP  BY 
UNDERGIRDING  IT  ;  AND  BEING  IN  TERROR  LEST  THEY 
BE  CAST  ON  "THE  GREAT  QUICKSANDS,"  THEY  RE- 
DUCED SAIL,  AND  LET  THE  SHIP  DRIFT  IN  THAT  POSI- 
TION (z7>.,  laid- to  under  storm-sails). 

One  morning,  after  the  council,  their  chance  came 
with  a  moderate  south  wind,  which  favoured  their  west- 
erly   voyage.     At    this    point   the   writer   says  that  they 

^  Literally^  had  got  their  purpose. 


Sec.  4. 


The  Storm.  3^7 


went    close    inshore ;    and    this  emphatic  statement,  after 
they  had  been  on  a  coasting  voyage  for  weeks,  must  in 
a  careful    writer   have   some   special  force.     Cape  Matala 
projected  well  out  to  the   south   about  six  miles  west  of 
Fair    Havens,  and    it   needed    all    their    sailing  power  to 
clear  it  on  a  straight  course.     From  Luke's  emphasis  we 
gather    that    it    was    for    some    time    doubtful    whether 
they  could    weather    the  point  ;  and    in    the    bright    late 
autumn  morning  we  can  imagine  every  one  gathered  on 
the   deck,   watching   the   wind,  the   coast,  and   the   cape 
ahead.      If  the   wind    went   round    a   point   towards   the 
west,  they  would  fail  ;  and  the  anxious  hour  has  left  its 
record    in    the    single    word    of  v.  13  {siaaov),  while   the 
inability  of  some  scribes  or  editors  to  imagine  the  scene 
has  left  its  record  in  the  alteration  {daaaov). 

After    passing    Cape   Matala,    they    had    before    them 
a  fair   course   with    a    favouring   breeze  across  the  broad 
opening   of  the  Gulf  of   Messara.     But  before  they  had 
got  halfway  across  the  open    bay,^  there  came  a  sudden 
change,    such    as    is    characteristic    of   that    sea,    where 
"southerly    winds    almost    invariably   shift   to   a   violent 
northerly  wind".     There    struck    down    from    the  Cretan 
mountains,  which   towered    above   them  to  the  height  of 
over  7000  feet,  a  sudden  eddying  squall  from  about  east- 
north-east.     Every  one  who  has  any  experience  of  sailing 
on  lakes  or  bays  overhung  by  mountains  will  appreciate  the 
epithet  "typhonic,"  which  Luke  uses.     As  a  ship-captain 
recently  said  to  me  in  relating  an  anecdote  of  his  own  ex- 
perience in  the  Cretan  waters,  "the  wind  comes  down  from 
those  mountains  fit  to  blow  the  ship  out  of  the  water  ". 

1  Seventeen  miles  from  shore  to  shore  on  their  course,,  according 
to  Smith. 


328  The  Voyage  to  Rome.  Chap.  XIV. 

An  ancient  ship  with  one  huge  sail  was  exposed  to 
extreme  danger  from  such  a  blast  ;  the  straining  of 
the  great  sail  on  the  single  mast  was  more  than 
the  hull  could  bear ;  and  the  ship  was  exposed  to  a 
risk  which  modern  vessels  do  not  fear,  foundering  in 
the  open  sea.  It  appears  that  they  were  not  able  to 
slacken  sail  quickly ;  and,  had  the  ship  been  kept  up 
towards  the  wind,  the  strain  would  have  shaken  her  to 
pieces.  Even  when  they  let  the  ship  go,  the  leverage 
on  her  hull  must  have  been  tremendous,  and  would  in 
a  short  time  have  sent  her  to  the  bottom.  Paul,  who 
had  once  already  narrowly  escaped  from  such  a  wreck, 
drifting  on  a  spar  or  swimming  for  a  night  and  a  day 
(II  Cor.  XI  25),  was  justified  in  his  advice  at  Fair 
Havens  not  to  run  the  risk  of  coasting  further  in  the 
dangerous  season  on  a  coast  where  such  sudden  squalls 
are  a  common  feature.  In  this  case  the  ship  was  saved 
by  getting  into  calmer  water  under  the  shelter  of  an 
island,  Cauda  (now  Gozzo),  about  twenty-three  miles  to 
leeward. 

At  this  point  Smith  notices  the  precision  of  Luke's 
terminology.  In  z;.  4  they  sailed  under  the  lee  of  Cyprus, 
keeping  northwards  with  a  westerly  wind  on  the  beam 
{vireTTkevaaixev)  ;  here  they  ran  before  a  wind  under  the 
lee  of  Cauda  {v7roBpa/jb6vTe<;). 

The  sailors  knew  that  their  only  hope  was  in  the 
smoother  water  behind  Cauda,  and  kept  her  up  accord- 
ingly with  her  head  to  the  wind,  so  that  she  would 
make  no  headway,  but  merely  drifted  with  her  right 
side  towards  the  wind  ("  on  the  starboard  tack  "). 

Here  three  distinct  operations  were  performed  ;  and 
it  is  noteworthy  that  Luke  mentions   first   among   them, 


Sec.  4.  The  Storm.  329 

not  the  one  which  was  the  most  important  or  necessary, 
but  the  one  in  which  he  himself  took  part,  viz.,  hauling 
in  the  boat.  In  the  hght  breeze  it  had  been  left  to 
tow  behind,  and  the  squall  had  come  down  too  suddenly 
to  haul  it  in.  While  the  other  operations  required  skill, 
any  one  could  haul  on  a  rope,  and  Luke  was  pressed 
into  the  service.  The  boat  was  waterlogged  by  this 
time ;  and  the  historian  notes  feelingly  what  hard  work 
it  was  to  get  it  in,  v.  16. 

While  this  was  going  on,  ropes  were  got  out,  and  the 
ship  undergirded  to  strengthen  her  against  the  storm 
and  the  straining  of  her  timbers.  The  scholars  who 
discuss  nautical  subjects  seem  all  agreed  that  under- 
girders  were  put  longitudinally  round  the  ship  {i.e., 
horizontal  girders  passed  round  stem  and  stern).  If 
any  of  them  will  show  how  it  was  possible  to  perform 
this  operation  during  a  storm,  I  shall  be  ready  to  accept 
their  opinion  ;  but  meantime  (without  entering  on  the 
question  what  "  undergirders,"  virol^Mii.ara,  were  in 
Athenian  triremes)  I  must  with  Smith  believe  that 
cables  were  passed  underneath  round  the  ship  transversely 
to  hold  the  timbers  together.  This  is  a  possible  opera- 
tion in  the  circumstances,  and  a  useful  one. 

Luke  mentions  last  what  a  sailor  would  mention 
first,  the  most  delicate  and  indispensable  operation, 
viz.,  leaving  up  just  enough  of  sail  to  keep  the  ship's 
head  to  the  wind,  and  bringing  down  everything  else 
that  could  be  got  down.  It  is  not  certain  that  he 
fully  understood  this  operation,  but  perhaps  the  Greek 
(j(^aXdaavTe<;  to  crKevo'^)  might  be  taken  as  a  technical 
term  denoting  the  entire  series  of  operations,  slackening 
sail,   but   leaving  some  spread  for  a  special   purpose. 


330  The   Voyage  to  Rome.  Chap.  XIV. 

This  operation  was  intended  to  guard  against  the  danger 
of  being  driven  on  the  great  quicksands  of  the  African 
coast,  the  Syrtes,  These  were  still  far  distant ;  but  the 
sailors  knew  that  at  this  late  season  the  wind  might  last 
many  days.  The  wind  was  blowing  straight  on  the  sands  ; 
and  it  was  absolutely  necessary,  not  merely  to  delay  the 
ship's  motion  towards  them,  but  to  turn  it  in  a  different 
direction.  In  the  Gulf  of  Messara,  the  wind  had  been  an 
eddying  blast  under  the  mountains  ;  but  further  out  it 
was  a  steady,  strong  east-north-easterly  gale. 

Dragging  stones  or  weights  at  the  end  of  ropes  from 
the  stern,  which  is  the  meaning  elicited  by  some  German 
commentators  and  writers  on  nautical  matters,  does  not 
appear  to  be  intended  as  a  joke ;  but  how  that  meaning 
can  be  got  from  the  Greek  words  (^aXaa-avre'^  to  cr!cevo<i), 
I  confess  that  I  cannot  see.  Moreover,  as  we  have  said, 
what  the  sailors  wished  was  not  merely  to  delay  their 
course  towards  the  Syrtes,  but  to  turn  their  course  in 
another  direction. 

Accordingly,  the  ship  drifted,  with  her  head  to  the  north, 
steadied  by  a  low  sail,  making  lee-way  proportionate  to 
the  power  of  the  wind  and  waves  on  her  broadside.  As 
Smith  shows  in  detail,  the  resultant  rate  of  motion  would 
vary,  according  to  the  size  of  the  ship  and  the  force  of  the 
wind,  between  f  and  2  miles  per  hour ;  and  the  probable 
mean  rate  in  this  case  would  be  about  i^-  miles  per  hour; 
while  the  direction  would  approximate  to  8°  north  of  west. 
The  ship  would  continue  to  drift  in  the  same  way  as  long 
as  the  wind  blew  the  same,  and  the  timbers  and  sails  held  ; 
and  at  the  calculated  rates,  if  it  was  under  Cauda  towards 
evening,  it  would  on  the  fourteenth  night  be  near  Malta. 

5.     DRIFTING.       (XXVII    1 8)    AND,    AS    WE    LABOURED 


Sec.  5.  Drifting.  331 

EXCEEDINGLY  WITH  THE  STORM,  THE  NEXT  DAY  THEY 
BEGAN  TO  THROW  THE  FREIGHT  OVERBOARD,  (19)  AND 
ON  THE  THIRD  DAY  WE  CAST  OUT,  WITH  OUR  OWN 
HANDS  ACTUALLY,  THE  SHIP'S  FURNITURE.  (20)  AND  AS 
NEITHER  SUN  NOR  STARS  WERE  VISIBLE  FOR  MANY  DAYS, 
AND  A  SEVERE  STORM  WAS  PRESSING  HARD  ON  US,  ALL 
HOPE  THAT  WE  SHOULD  BE  SAVED  WAS  GRADUALLY 
TAKEN  AWAY.  (2l)  AND  WHEN  THERE  HAD  BEEN  LONG 
ABSTINENCE  FROM  FOOD,  THEN  PAUL  STOOD  FORTH  IN 
THE  MIDST  OF  THEM,  AND  SAID  :  "  THE  RIGHT  COURSE, 
GENTLEMEN,  WAS  TO  HEARKEN  TO  ME,  AND  NOT  TO  SET 
SAIL  FROM  CRETE  AND  INCUR  THIS  TROUBLE  AND  LOSS, 
(22)  AND  MY  ADVICE  TO  YOU  IN  THE  PRESENT  IS  TO 
TAKE  HEART  ;  FOR  LOSS  OF  LIFE  THERE  SHALL  BE  NONE 
AMONG  YOU,  BUT  OF  THE  SHIP.  (23)  FOR  THERE  STOOD 
BY  ME  THIS  NIGHT  AN  ANGEL  OF  THE  GOD  WHOSE  I  AM, 
WHOM  ALSO  I  SERVE,  (24)  SAYING  :  '  FEAR  NOT,  PAUL  ; 
THOU  MUST  STAND  BEFORE  C^SAR  ;  AND,  LO  !  THERE 
HAVE  BEEN  GRANTED  THEE  BY  GOD  ALL  THEY  THAT 
SAIL  W^TH  THEE'.  (25)  WHEREFORE  TAKE  HEART,  GEN- 
TLEMEN ;  FOR  I  BELIEVE  GOD,  THAT  IT  SHALL  BE  SO  AS 
IT  HATH  BEEN  SPOKEN  UNTO  ME.  (26)  HOWBEIT  WE 
MUST   BE  CAST  ON  SOME   ISLAND." 

In  their  situation  the  great  danger  was  of  foundering 
through  leakage  caused  by  the  constant  straining  due  to 
the  sail  and  the  force  of  the  waves  on  the  broadside,  which 
ancient  vessels  were  not  strong  enough  to  stand.  To 
lessen  the  danger,  the  sailors  began  to  lighten  the  ship,  by 
throwing  away  the  cargo.  On  the  day  after,  the  whole 
company,  Luke  among  them,  sacrificed  the  ship's  equip- 
ment. V,  19  is  a  climax  ;  "  with  our  own  hands  we  threw 
away  all  the  ship's  fittings  and  equipment,"  the  extreme 


S3-  The    Voyage  to  Rome.  Chap.  XIV. 

act  of  sacrifice.  The  first  person,  used  in  the  Authorised 
Version,  occurs  only  in  some  less  authoritative  MSS.,  but 
greatly  increases  the  effect.  The  sailors  threw  overboard 
part  of  the  cargo  ;  and  the  passengers  and  supernumeraries, 
in  eager  anxiety  to  do  something,  threw  overboard  what- 
ever movables  they  found,  which  was  of  little  or  no  prac- 
tical use,  but  they  were  eager  to  do  something.  This 
makes  a  striking  picture  of  growing  panic  ;  but  the  third 
person,  which  appears  in  the  great  MSS.,  is  ineffective,  and 
makes  no  climax. 

One  of  the  miserable  accompaniments  of  a  storm  at 
sea  is  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  food  ;  and,  if  that  is 
so  in  a  modern  vessel,  it  must  have  been  much  worse  in  an 
ancient  merchant  ship,  inconveniently  crowded  with  sailors 
and  passengers.  Moreover,  the  sacrifice  of  the  ship's 
furniture  must  have  greatly  increased  the  difficulty  of 
preparing   food. 

Worse  than  all,  the  leakage  was  steadily  growing 
from  the  straining  of  the  mast,  and  yet  they  dared  not 
cut  the  mast  away,  as  it  alone  helped  them  to  work 
off  the  dreaded  African  sands.  Day  after  day  the  crew 
sat  doing  nothing,  eating  nothing,  waiting  till  the  ship 
should  sink.  In  such  a  situation  the  experience  of 
many  cases  shows  that  some  individual,  often  one  not  hither- 
to prominent,  and  not  rarely  a  woman,  comes  forward  to 
cheer  the  company  to  the  hope  of  escape  and  the 
courage  of  work  ;  and  many  a  desperate  situation  has 
been  overcome  by  the  energy  thus  imparted.  In  this 
case  Paul  stood  forth  in  the  midst  of  the  helpless, 
panic-struck  crowd.  When  caution  was  suitable  {y. 
lo),  he  had  been  the  prudent,  cautious  adviser,  warning 
the   council    of   prospective    danger.       But    now,    amidst 


Sec.  5.  Driftmg,  333 

panic  and  despair,  he  appears  cool,  confident,  assured 
of  safety  ;  and  he  speaks  in  the  only  tone  that  could 
cheer  such  an  audience  as  his,  the  tone  of  an  inspired 
messenger.  In  a  vision  he  has  learned  that  all  are  to 
escape  ;  and  he  adds  that  an  island  is  to  be  the  means 
of  safety. 

6.  LAND.  (XXVII  27)  BUT  WHEN  THE  FOURTEENTH 
NIGHT  WAS  COME,  AS  WE  WERE  DRIVEN  TO  AND  FRO 
IN  THE  ADRIA,  TOWARDS  MIDNIGHT  THE  SAILORS 
SURMISED  THAT  SOME  LAND  WAS  NEARING  THEM  ;  (28) 
AND  THEY  SOUNDED,  AND  FOUND  TWENTY  FATHOMS  ; 
AND  AFTER  A  LITTLE  SPACE  THEY  SOUNDED  AGAIN, 
AND  FOUND  FIFTEEN  FATHOMS.  (29)  AND  FEARING 
LEST  HAPLY  WE  SHOULD  BE  CAST  ON  ROCKY  GROUND 
THEY  LET  GO  FOUR  ANCHORS  FROM  THE  STERN, 
AND  PRAYED  THAT  DAY  COME  ON.  (30)  AND  AS 
THE  SAILORS  WERE  SEEKING  TO  MAKE  THEIR  ESCAPE 
FROM  THE  SHIP,  AND  HAD  LOWERED  THE  BOAT 
INTO  THE  SEA,  UNDER  PRETENCE  OF  LAYING  OUT 
ANCHORS  FROM  THE  BOW,  (31)  PAUL  SAID  TO  THE 
CENTURION  AND  THE  SOLDIERS,  "  UNLESS  THESE  ABIDE 
IN  THE  SHIP,  YOU  CANNOT  BE  SAVED".  (32)  THEN 
THE  SOLDIERS  CUT  AWAY  THE  ROPES  OF  THE  BOAT 
AND  LET  HER  FALL  AWAY.  (33)  AND  WHILE  THE  DAY 
WAS  COMING  ON,  PAUL  BESOUGHT  THEM  ALL  TO  TAKE 
SOME  FOOD,  SAYING  :  *'  THIS  DAY  IS  THE  FOURTEENTH 
DAY  THAT  YOU  WATCH  AND  CONTINUE  FASTING,  AND 
HAVE  TAKEN  NOTHING.  (34)  WHEREFORE,  I  BESEECH 
YOU  TO  TAKE  SOME  FOOD,  FOR  THIS  IS  FOR  YOUR 
SAFETY  ;  FOR  THERE  SHALL  NOT  A  HAIR  PERISH  FROM 
THE  HEAD  OF  ANY  OF  YOU."  (35)  AND  WHEN  HE 
HAD    SAID    THIS,   HE    TOOK    BREAD    AND    GAVE    THANKS 


334  ^^^   Voyage  to  Rome.  Chap.  XIV. 

TO  GOD  IN  THE  PRESENCE  OF  ALL  ;  AND  HE  BRAKE 
IT,  AND  BEGAN  TO  EAT.  (36)  THEN  WERE  THEY  ALL 
OF  GOOD  CHEER,  AND  THEMSELVES  ALSO  TOOK  SOME 
FOOD.  (37)  AND  WE  WERE  IN  ALL  ON  THE  SHIP  2/6 
SOULS.  (38)  AND  WHEN  THEY  HAD  EATEN  ENOUGH, 
THEY  PROCEEDED  TO  LIGHTEN  THE  SHIP,  THROWING 
OUT   THE  WHEAT   INTO   THE   SEA. 

Luke  seems  to  have  had  the  landsman's  idea  that  they 
drifted  to  and  fro  in  the  Mediterranean.  A  sailor  would 
have  known  that  they  drifted  in  a  uniform  direction  ;  but 
it  seems  hardly  possible  to  accept  Smith's  idea  that  the 
Greek  word  {Bia<p€pofievcov)  can  denote  a  straight  drifting 
course. 

The  name  Adria  has  caused  some  difficulty.  It  was 
originally  narrower  in  application  ;  but  in  the  usage  of 
sailors  it  grew  wider  as  time  passed,  and  Luke  uses  the 
term  that  he  heard  on  shipboard,  where  the  sailors  called 
the  sea  that  lay  between  Malta,  Italy,  Greece,  and  Crete 
"the  Adria  ".  As  usual,  Luke's  terminology  is  that  of  life 
and  conversation,  not  of  literature.  Strabo  the  geographer, 
who  wrote  about  A.D.  19,  says  that  the  Ionian  sea  on  the 
west  of  Greece  was  "  a  part  of  what  is  now  called  Adria," 
implying  that  contemporary  popular  usage  was  wider  than 
ancient  usage.  In  later  usage  the  name  was  still  more 
widely  applied  :  in  the  fifth  century  "  the  Adria  "  extended 
to  the  coast  of  Cyrene  ;  and  mediaeval  sailors  distinguished 
the  Adriatic,  as  the  whole  Eastern  half  of  the  Mediter- 
ranean, from  the  ,^gean  sea  (see  p.  298). 

On  the  fourteenth  midnight,  the  practised  senses  of  the 
sailors  detected  that  land  was  nearing  :  probably,  as  Smith 
suggests,  they  heard  the  breakers,  and,  as  an  interesting 
confirmation  of  his  suggestion,  one  old  Latin  version  reads 


Sec.  6.  Land.  335 

"  that  land  was  resounding  ".^  It  was  now  necessary  to 
choose  where  they  should  beach  the  vessel  ;  for  the  sound 
of  the  breakers  warned  them  that  the  coast  was  dangerous. 
In  the  dark  no  choice  was  possible ;  and  they  therefore 
were  forced  to  anchor.  With  a  strong  wind  blowing  it  was 
doubtful  whether  the  cables  and  anchors  would  hold ;  there- 
fore, to  give  themselves  every  chance,  they  let  go  four 
anchors.  Smith  quotes  from  the  sailing  directions  that  in 
St.  Paul's  Bay  (the  traditional  scene  of  the  wreck),  "  while 
the  cables  hold  there  is  no  danger,  as  the  anchors  will 
never  start".  He  also  points  out  that  a  ship  drifting  from 
Cauda  could  not  get  into  the  bay  without  passing  near  the 
low  rocky  point  of  Koura,  which  bounds  it  on  the  east. 
The  breakers  here  warned  the  sailors  ;  and  the  charts  show 
that  after  passing  the  point  the  ship  would  pass  over  20 
fathoms  and  then  over  15  fathoms  depth  on  her  course, 
W.  by  N. 

Anchoring  by  the  stern  was  unusual  ;  but  in  their  situa- 
tion it  had  great  advantages.  Had  they  anchored  by  the 
bow,  the  ship  would  have  swung  round  from  the  wind  ; 
and,  when  afterwards  they  wished  to  run  her  ashore,  it 
would  have  been  far  harder  to  manage  her  when  lying  with 
her  prow  pointing  to  the  wind  and  away  from  the  shore. 
But,  as  they  were,  they  had  merely  to  cut  the  cables,  un- 
lash  the  rudders,  and  put  up  a  little  foresail  {v.  40) ;  and 
they  had  the  ship  at  once  under  command  to  beach  her  at 
any  spot  they  might  select. 

As  the  ship  was  now  lying  at  anchor  near  some  land, 
the  sailors  were  about  to  save  themselves  by  the  boat 
and  abandon  the  ship  to  its  fate  without  enough  skilled 

1  I.  Resonare  Gig.  Compared  with  -npoaaxfw  B,  as  Prof.  Rendel 
Harris  suggests  to  me,  this  imphes  an  early  Greek  reading  TrpooT;;^^?!/, 


2,S^  The    Voyage  to  Rome.  Chap.  XIV. 

hands  to  work  it  ;  but  Paul,  vigilant  ever,  detected  their 
design,  and  prevented  it.  Then,  in  order  that  the  com- 
pany might  have  strength  for  the  hard  vi^ork  that 
awaited  them  at  daybreak,  he  encouraged  them  once 
more  with  the  assurance  of  safety,  urged  them  to  eat 
with  a  view  thereto,  and  himself  set  the  example.  There 
is  perhaps  an  intention  in  v.  35  to  represent  Paul  as 
acting  like  Jesus  at  the  last  Passover  ;  and  the  resem- 
blance is  more  pointed  if  the  words  added  in  one  MS. 
and  some  versions  are  original,  "  giving  also  to  us ". 
But  it  would  be  necessary  to  understand  "  us  "  to  mean 
only  Luke  and  Aristarchus  (as  Dr.  Blass  agrees)  ;  and 
this  is  harsh  after  the  word  has  been  so  often  used  in  a 
much  wider  sense.  It  is  characteristic  of  Christianity  in  all 
periods  to  seek  after  resemblances  between  the  Founder 
and  any  great  hero  of  the  faith  at  some  crisis  of  his- 
tory ;  and  this  addition  seems  a  later  touch  to  bring  out 
the  resemblance. 

7.  PAUL'S  ACTION  ON  THE  SHIP.  The  account  of 
the  voyage  as  a  whole  is  commonly  accepted  by  critics  as 
the  most  trustworthy  part  of  Acts  and  as  "  one  of  the 
most  instructive  documents  for  the  knowledge  of  ancient 
seamanship,"  (Holtzmann  on  XXVII  4,  p.  421).  But 
in  it  many  critics  detect  the  style  of  the  later  hand,  the 
supposed  second-century  writer  that  made  the  work  out 
of  good  and  early  documents,  and  addressed  his  com- 
pilation to  Theophilus.  Many  hold  that  this  writer 
inserted  vv.  21-26,  and  some  assign  to  him  also  vv.  33-35, 
because  the  character  there  attributed  to  Paul  is  quite 
different  from  his  character  in  the  genuine  old  docu- 
ment, especially  vi\  10  and  31  ;  in  the  original  parts 
Paul  is  represented  as  a  simple   passenger,  cautious  to  a 


Sec.  7.  PauFs  Action  on  the  Ship.  337 

degree,  suft'ering  from  hunger,  apprehensive  of  the  future^ 
keenly  alive  to  prospective  danger,  and  anxious  to  pro- 
vide against  it:  on  the  other  hand,  in  vv.  21-26  he 
knows  that  their  safety  is  assured  ;  he  speaks  as  the 
prophet,  not  the  anxious  passenger  ;  he  occupies  a  posi- 
tion apart  from,  and  on  a  higher  plane  than  human. 

This  is  a  fair  hypothesis,  and  deserves  fair  and  dis- 
passionate consideration  ;  no  one  whose  mind  is  not 
already  definitely  made  up  on  all  questions  can  pass 
it  by ;  and  only  those  who  feel  that  they  understand 
the  entire  narrative  in  every  turn  and  phrase  and  allu- 
sion would  willingly  pass  it  by,  for  every  real  student 
knows  how  frequently  his  knowledge  is  increased  by  chang- 
ing his  point  of  view. 

We  may  at  once  grant  that  the  narrative  would  go 
on  without  any  obvious  awkwardness  if  21-26  were 
omitted,  which  is  of  course  true  of  many  a  paragraph 
describing  some  special  incident  in  a  historical  work. 

But  it  is  half-hearted  and  useless  to  cut  out  21-26  as 
an  interpolation  without  cutting  out  33-38  ;  there,  too, 
Paul  is  represented  as  the  prophet  and  the  consoler  on 
a  higher  plane,  though  he  is  also  the  mere  passenger 
suffering  from  hunger,  and  alive  to  the  fact  that  the  safety 
of  all  depends  on  their  taking  food  and  being  fit  for 
active  exertion  in  the  morning.  Some  critics  go  so  far 
as  to  cut  out  vv.  33-35.  But  it  is  not  possible  to  cut 
these  out  alone ;  there  is  an  obvious  want  of  sequence 
between  32  and  ^6,  and  Holtzmann  therefore  seems  to 
accept  33-35.  But  if  they  are  accepted  I  fail  to  see 
any  reason  for  rejecting  21-26;  these  two  passages  are 
so  closely  akin  in  purport  and  bearing  an  the  context 
that  they  must  go  together;    and  all  the   mischief  attri- 

22 


"^8  The   Voyage  to  Rome.  Chap.  XIV". 


oo 


buted  to  21-26  as  placing  Paul  on  a  higher  plane  is  done 

in  33-35- 

Further,  the  excision  of  21-26  would  cut  away  a  vital 
part  of  the  narrative,  (i)  These  verses  contain  the  addi- 
tional fact,  natural  in  itself  and  assumed  in  z;.  34  as 
already  known,  that  the  crew  and  passciigers  were  starv- 
ing and  weak.  (2)  They  fit  well  into  the  context,  for 
they  follow  naturally  after  the  spiritlessness  described  in 
V.  20,  and  Paul  begins  by  claiming  attention  on  the 
ground  of  his  former  advice  (advice  that  is  accepted  by 
the  critics  as  genuine  because  it  is  different  in  tone  from 
the  supposed  interpolation).  "  In  former  circumstances," 
says  he,  "I  gave  you  different,  but  salutary  advice, 
which  to  your  cost  you  disregarded  ;  listen  to  me  now 
when  I  tell  you  that  you  shall  escape."  The  method  of 
escape,  the  only  method  that  a  sailor  could  believe  tO' 
be  probable,  is  added  as  a  concluding  encouragement. 

But  let  us  cut  out  ^v^xy  verse  that  puts  Paul  on  a 
higher  plane,  and  observe  the  narrative  that  would 
result :  Paul  twice  comes  forward  with  advice  that  is 
cautiously  prudent,  and  shows  kern  regard  to  the  chance 
of  safety.  If  that  is  all  the  character  he  displayed 
throughout  the  voyage,  why  do  we  study  the  man 
and  his  fate  ?  All  experience  shows  that  in  such  a 
situation  there  1:3  often  found  some  one  to  encourage 
the  rest ;  and,  if  Paul  had  not  been  the  man  to  comfort 
and  cheer  his  despairing  shipmates,  he  would  never 
have  impressed  himself  on  history  or  made  himself  an 
interest  to  all  succeeding  time.  The  world's  history 
stamps  the  interpolation-theory  here  as  false. 

Moreover,  the  letters  of  Paul  put  before  us  a  totally 
different     character     from     this      prudent     calculator    of 


Sec.  7.  PauVs  Action  on  the  Ship.  339 

chances.  The  Paul  of  Acts  XXVII  is  the  Paul  of  the 
Epistles :  the  Paul  who  remains  on  the  interpolation- 
theory  could  never  have  written  the  Epistles. 

Finally,  the  reason  why  the  historian  dwells  at  such 
length  on  tiie  voyage  lies  mainly  in  vv.  21-26  and 
33-38.  In  the  voyage  he  pictures  Paul  on  a  higher 
plane  than  common  men,  advising  more  skilfully  than 
the  skilled  mariners,  maintaining  hope  and  courage 
when  all  were  in  despair,  and  breathing  his  hope  and 
courage  into  others,  playing  the  part  of  a  true  Roman 
in  a  Roman  ship,  looked  up  to  even  by  the  centurion,  and 
in  his  single  self  the  saviour  of  the  lives  of  all.  But  the 
interpolation-theory  would  cut  out  the  centre  of  the 
picture. 

There  remains  no  reason  to  reject  vv.  21-26  which  I 
can  discover,  except  that  it  introduces  the  superhuman 
element.  That  is  an  argument  to  which  I  have  no  reply. 
It  is  quite  a  tenable  position  in  the  present  stage  of 
science  and  knowledge  to  maintain  that  every  narrative 
which  contains  elements  of  the  marvellous  must  be  an 
unhistorical  and  untrustworthy  narrative.  But  let  us 
have  the  plain  and  honest  reasons ;  those  who  defend 
that  perfectly  fair  position  should  not  try  to  throw  in 
front  of  it  as  outworks  flimsy  and  uncritical  reasons, 
which  cannot  satisfy  for  a  moment  any  one  that  has  not 
his  mind  made  up  beforehand  on  that  fundamental 
premise.  But  the  superhuman  element  is  inextricably 
involved  in  this  book  :  you  cannot  cut  it  out  by  any 
critical  process  that  will  bear  scrutiny.  You  must  accept 
all  or  leave  all. 

8.  ON  SHORE.  (XXVII  39)  AND  WHEN  IT  WAS  DAY 
THEY   DID  NOT  RECOGNISE  THE  LAND  ;    BUT  THEY  WERE 


340  The   Voyage  to  Rome.  Chap.  XIV. 

AWARE  OF  A  SORT  OF  BAY  OR  CREEK  WITH  A  SANDY 
BEACH,  AND  THEY  TOOK  COUNSEL,  IF  POSSIBLE,  TO 
DRIVE  THE  SHIP  UP  ON  IT.  (40)  AND  CASTING  OFF 
THE  ANCHORS,  THEY  LEFT  THEM  IN  THE  SEA,  WHILST 
LOOSING  THE  FASTENINGS  OF  THE  RUDDERS,  AND 
SETTING  THE  FORESAIL  TO  THE  BREEZE,  THEY  HELD 
FOR  THE  OPEN  BEACH.  (41)  AND  CHANCING  ON  A 
BANK  BETWEEN  TWO  SEAS,  THEY  DROVE  THE  SHIP 
ON  IT  ;  AND  THE  PROW  STRUCK  AND  REMAINED 
IMMOVABLE,  BUT  THE  AFTER  PART  BEGAN  TO  BREAK 
UP  FROM  THE  VIOLENCE.  (42)  AND  THE  SOLDIERS* 
COUNSEL  WAS  TO  KILL  THE  PRISONERS,  LEST  ANY 
SHOULD  SWIM  AWAY  AND  ESCAPE  ;  (43)  BUT  THE  CEN- 
TURION, WISHING  TO  SAVE  PAUL,  STAYED  THEM 
FROM  THEIR  PURPOSE,  AND  BADE  THEM  THAT  COULD 
SWIM  TO  LEAP  OVERBOARD  AND  GET  FIRST  TO  LAND, 
(44)  AND  THE  REST,  SOME  ON  PLANKS,  AND  SOME  ON 
PIECES  FROM  THE  SHIP.  AND  SO  IT  CAME  TO  PASS 
THAT    ALL    ESCAPED    SAFE    TO    TH^    LAND. 

No  description  could  be  more  clear  and  precise, 
selecting  the  essential  points  and  omitting  all  others. 
Smith  quotes  some  interesting  parallels  from  modern 
narratives  of  shipwreck. 

Some  doubt  has  arisen  whether  "the  bank  between 
two  seas"  was  a  shoal  separated  from  the  shore  by  deep 
water,  or,  as  Smith  says,  a  neck  of  land  projecting 
towards  the  island  of  Salmonetta,  which  shelters  St. 
Paul's  Bay  on  the  north-west.  But  the  active  term 
"drove  the  ship  on  it"  {iireKeiXav)  implies  purpose,  and 
decides  in  Smith's  favour.  The  fact  that  they  "chanced 
on  a  ridge  between  two  seas"  might  at  the  first  glance 
seem   to   imply  want   of  purpose ;    but,  as  Smith  points 


Sfc.  8.  On  Shore.  341 

out,  they  could  not,  while  lying  at  anchor,  see  the  exact 
character  of  the  spot.  They  selected  a  promising  point, 
and  as  they  approached  they  found  that  luck  had  led 
them  to  the  isthmus  between  the  island  and  the  main- 
land. In  their  situation  the  main  object  was  to  get  the 
ship  close  up  to  the  shore,  and  safe  from  being  rapidly 
and  utterly  smashed  up  by  the  waves.  No  place  could 
have  better  favoured  their  purpose.  The  ship  (which 
probably  drew  eighteen  feet  of  water)  "struck  a  bottom  of 
mud,  graduating  into  tenacious  clay,  into  which  the  fore 
part  would  fix  itself,  and  be  held  fast,  while  the  stern 
was  exposed  to  the  force  of  the  waves".  Thus  the 
foreship  was  held  together,  until  every  passenger  got 
safe  to  dry  land.  Only  the  rarest  conjunction  of  favour- 
able circumstances  could  have  brought  about  such  a 
fortunate  ending  to  their  apparently  hopeless  situation  ; 
and  one  of  the  completest  services  that  has  ever  been 
rendered  to  New  Testament  scholarship  is  James  Smith's 
proof  that  all  these  circumstances  are  united  in  St.  Paul's 
Bay.  The  only  difficulty  to  which  he  has  applied  a 
rather  violent  solution  is  the  sandy  beach :  at  the  tradi- 
tional point  where  the  ship  was  run  ashore  there  is  no 
sandy  beach;  but  he  considers  that  it  is  "now  worn 
away  by  the  wasting  action  of  the  sea".  On  this  detail 
only  local  knowledge  would  justify  an  opinion. 

In  V.  41  "  the  violence "  is  the  expression  used  by  a 
person  standing  on  the  shore  and  watching  the  waves 
smash  up  the  ship:  he  does  not  need  to  specify  the 
kind  of  violence.  This  expression  takes  us  on  to  the 
beach,  and  makes  us  gaze  on  the  scene.  The  humblest 
scribe  can  supply  Kv/xdroiv  here,  and  most  of  them  have 
done  so. 


342  The   Voyage  to  Rome.  Chap.  XIV. 

In  V.  43  Luke  mentions  that  the  directions  were  given, 
and  leaves  the  reader  to  understand  that  they  were  carried 
into  effect  (compare  pp.  i8i,  233,  295). 

9.  MALTA.  (XXVIII  l)  AND  WHEN  WE  WERE 
ESCAPED,  THEN  WE  LEARNT  THAT  THE  ISLAND  IS 
CALLED  MELITA.  (2)  AND  THE  BARBARIANS  SHOWED 
US  NO  COMMON  KINDNESS  ;  FOR  THEY  KINDLED  A 
FIRE,  AND  WELCOMED  US  ALL,  BECAUSE  OF  THE 
PRESENT  RAIN  AND  BECAUSE  OF  THE  COLD.  (3)  BUT 
WHEN  PAUL  HAD  GATHERED  A  BUNDLE  OF  STICKS  AND 
LAID  THEM  ON  THE  FIRE,  A  VIPER  CAME  OUT  BY 
REASON  OF  THE  HEAT  AND  FASTENED  ON  HIS  HAND. 
(4)  AND  WHEN  THE  BARBARIANS  SAW  THE  BEAST 
HANGING  FROM  HIS  HAND,  THEY  SAID  TO  ONE  AN- 
OTHER, "  NO  DOUBT  THIS  MAN  IS  A  MURDERER,  WHOM, 
THOUGH  HE  HATH  ESCAPED  FROM  THE  SEA,  YET 
JUSTICE  WILL  NOT  SUFFER  TO  LIVE  ".  (5)  HOWBEIT 
HE  SHOOK  OFF  THE  BEAST  INTO  THE  FIRE,  AND  TOOK 
NO  HARM.  (6)  BUT  THEY  EXPECTED  THAT  HE  WOULD 
HAVE  SWOLLEN  OR  FALLEN  DOWN  DEAD  SUDDENLY  ; 
BUT  WHEN  THEY  WERE  LONG  IN  EXPECTATION  AND 
BEHELD  NOTHING  AMISS  COME  TO  HIM,  THEY  CHANGED 
THEIR  MINDS,  AND  SAID  THAT  HE  WAS  A  GOD.  (7) 
NOW  IN  THE  NEIGHBOURHOOD  OF  THAT  PLACE  WERE 
LANDS  BELONGING  TO  THE  FIRST  man  OF  THE  ISLAND, 
NAMED  POPLIUS,  WHO  RECEIVED  US  AND  ENTERTAINED 
US  THREE  DAYS  COURTEOUSLY.  (8)  AND  IT  WAS  SO 
THAT  THE  FATHER  OF  POPLIUS  LAY  SICK  OF  A  FEVER 
AND  DYSENTERY  ;  AND  PAUL  ENTERED  IN  UNTO  HIM, 
AND  PRAYED,  AND  LAYING  HIS  HANDS  ON  HIM  HEALED 
HIM.  (9)  AND  WHEN  THIS  WAS  DONE  THE  REST  ALSO 
WHICH   HAD  DISEASES  IN   THE   ISLAND  CAME  AND   WERE 


Sec.  9.  Malta.  343 

CURED  ;  (10)  WHO  ALSO  HONOURED  US  WITH  MANY 
HONOURS,  AND  WHEN  WE  SAILED  PUT  ON  BOARD  SUCH 
THINGS   AS   WE   NEEDED. 

The  name  Poplius  is  the  Greek  form  of  the  prcsnomen 
Publius  ;  but  it  is  not  probable  that  this  official  would 
be  called  by  a  simple  prmiomcji.  Poplius  might  perhaps 
be  the  Greek  rendering  of  the  nomen  Popilius.  Yet  pos- 
sibly the  peasantry  around  spoke  familiarly  of  "Publius" 
by  his  prcenomen  simply ;  and  Luke  (who  has  no  sympathy 
for  Roman  nomenclature)  took  the  name  that  he  heard  in 
common  use.  The  title  "  first "  is  technically  correct  in 
Melita  :  it  has  inscriptional  authority. 

Doubtless  many  of  the  sailors  had  been  at  Malta 
before,  for  eastern  ships  bound  for  Rome  must  have 
often  touched  at  the  island,  v.  11.  "  But  St.  Paul's 
Bay  is  remote  from  the  great  harbour,  and  possesses 
no  marked  features  by  which  it  could  be  recognised " 
from  the  anchorage  in  the  bay. 

The  objections  which  have  been  advanced,  that  there 
are  now  no  vipers  in  the  island,  and  only  one  place 
where  any  wood  grows,  are  too  trivial  to  deserve  notice. 
Such  changes  are  natural  and  probable  in  a  small 
island,   populous   and   long   civilised. 

The  term  "  barbarians,"  v.  2,  is  charactei:istic  of  the 
nationality  of  the  writer.  It  does  not  indicate  rudeness 
or  uncivilised  habits,  but  merely  non-Greek  birth ;  and 
it  is  difficult  to  imagine  that  a  Syrian  or  a  Jew  or  any 
one  but  a  Greek  would  have  applied  the  name  to  the 
people  of  Malta,  who  had  been  in  contact  with 
Phcenicians   and    Romans   for   many   centuries. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

ST.    PAUL    IN    ROME. 

I.  THE  COMING  TO  ROME.  (XXVIII  II)  ANI> 
AFTER  THREE  MONTHS  WE  SET  SAIL  IN  A  SHIP  OF 
ALEXANDRIA,  WHICH  HAD  WINTERED  IN  THE  ISLAND^ 
WHOSE  SIGN  WAS  "THE  TWIN  BROTHERS".  (l2)  AND 
TOUCHING  AT  SYRACUSE,  WE  TARRIED  THERE  THREE 
DAYS.  (13)  AND  FROM  THENCE,  BY  TACKING,  WE 
ARRIVED  AT  RHEGIUM.  AND  AFTER  ONE  DAY  A  SOUTH 
WIND  SPRANG  UP,  AND  ON  THE  SECOND  DAY  WE  CAME 
TO  PUTEOLI  :  (14)  WHERE,  FINDING  BRETHREN,  WE 
WERE  CONSOLED  AMONG  THEM,  REMAINING  SEVEN 
DAYS  ;  ^  AND  THEREUPON  WE  CAME  TO  ROME.  (15) 
AND  FROM  THENCE  THE  BRETHREN,  HEARING  THE 
NEWS  ABOUT  US,  CAME  TO  MEET  US  AS  FAR  AS 
"APPIUS'  MARKET"  AND  "THREE  TAVERNS ":  WHOM, 
WHEN  PAUL  SAW,  HE  THANKED  GOD  AND  TOOK 
COURAGE.  (16)  AND  WHEN  WE  ENTERED  INTO  ROME 
[the  centurion  delivered  the  prisoners  to  the  stratopedarch, 

^  The  text  of  most  MSS.,  "  we  were  entreated  to  tarry  with 
them  seven  days,"  seems  irreconcilable  with  Paul's  situation  as  a 
prisoner.  However  friendly  Julius  was  to  Paul,  he  was  a  Roman 
officer,  with  whom  discipline  and  obedience  to  rule  were  natural. 
With  Blass,  we  follow  the  text  of  the  inferior  MSS.  (see  p.  212). 

(344) 


Sec.  I.  The  Commg  to  Rome.  345 

and'\  PAUL  WAS  SUFFERED  TO  ABIDE  BY  HIMSELF  WITH 
THE  SOLDIER  THAT  GUARDED  HIM  [outside  of  the  camp]. 
.  .  .  (30)  AND  HE  ABODE  TWO  YEARS  IN  HIS  OWN 
HIRED  DWELLING,  AND  RECEIVED  ALL  THAT  WENT  IN 
UNTO  HIM,  (31)  AND  PREACHED  THE  KINGDOM  OF 
GOD,  AND  TAUGHT  WHAT  CONCERNED  THE  LORD 
JESUS  CHRIST   WITH   ALL  BOLDNESS,   NONE    FORBIDDING 

HIM  (see  note,  p.  362). 

The  wreck  took  place  before  the  middle  of  November 
(p.  322)  ;  therefore  they  sailed  from  Malta  in  February. 
That  is  earlier  than  the  usual  beginning  of  over-sea 
navigation ;  but  we  may  understand  that  favourable 
weather  tempted  them  to  an  early  start ;  and  as  the 
autumn  was  unusually  tempestuous,  it  is  probable  that 
fine  weather  began  early.  Luke  does  not  tell  what  sort 
of  wind  blew,  leaving  the  reader  to  understand  that  it  was 
from  a  southerly  quarter  (as  otherwise  no  ancient  ship 
would  attempt  the  over-sea  voyage).  The  wind  fell 
and  they  had  to  wait  three  days  in  Syracuse.  Then, 
though  the  breeze  was  not  from  the  south,  they  were 
able  by  good  seamanship  to  work  up  to  Rhegium,^ 
Here,  after  one  day,  a  south  wind  arose ;  and  they 
sailed  across  to  Puteoli,  arriving  there  on  the  second 
day. 

The  passage  probably  took  not  much  over  twenty- 
four  hours,  beginning  one  day  and  ending  the  following 
morning .  with  a  following  wind,  these  large  merchant 
vessels  sailed  fast.  The  passengers  landed  in  Puteoli  ; 
but  the  cargo,  doubtless,  was  carried    to    Ostia,  where  it 

1  Westcott  and  Hort  prefer  the  text  of  the  great  MSS.  irepieKovm, 
which  could  hardly  mean  more  than  "  casting  off,"  an  unnecessary 
piece  of  information  here,  though  important  in  XXVIL 


346  vS/.  Paul  m  Rome.  Chap.  XV. 

had  to  be  transshipped  to  smaller  vessels  which  could 
go  up  the  Tiber  to  Rome. 

Luke  mentions  the  name  of  the  last  vessel,  but  not 
of  any  of  the  others.  The  reason  lies  in  the  circum- 
stances. He  heard  the  news  about  the  last  vessel 
before  he  saw  it ;  but  he  became  acquainted  with  the 
others  by  seeing  them.  Probably  the  news  that  the 
Dioscuri,  of  the  Alexandrian  Imperial  fleet,  was  lying 
in  the  great  harbour,  reached  the  shipwrecked  party 
during  the  three  days  when  they  were  in  Poplius's  house  ; 
and  was  so  noted  in  Luke's  memoranda.  But  he  had 
not  the  sailor's  mind,  who  thinks  of  his  ship  as  a  living 
friend,  and  always  speaks  of  her  by  her  name  ;  hence 
the  other  ships  were  to  him  only  means  of  conveyance, 
whereas  the  name  of  the  Dioscuri  was  the  first  fact 
which  he  learned  about  her. 

Puteoli,  as  a  great  harbour,  was  a  central  point  and  a 
crossing  of  intercourse  ;  and  thus  Christianity  had 
already  established  itself  there.  All  movements  of 
thought  throughout  the  Empire  acted  with  marvellous 
rapidity  on  Rome,  the  heart  of  the  vast  and  complicated 
organism  ;  and  the  crossing-places  or  knots  '^  on  the 
main  highways  of  intercourse  with  the  East — Puteoli, 
Corinth,  Ephesus,  Syrian  Antioch — became  centres  from 
which  Christianity  radiated.  At  Pompeii,  which  is  not 
far  from  Puteoli,  the  Christians  were  a  subject  of  gossip 
among  loungers  in  the  street  before  it  was  destroyed 
by  the  eruption  of  Vesuvius  in  79. 

The  double  expression  of  arrival  at  Rome  in  vv.  14 
and  16  is  remarkable  ;  and  has  caused  much  speculation 

^  Each  of  them  may  be  called  TrdpoSoy,  the  epithet  applied  to 
Erhesus  by  Ignatius,  Rom.  12,  Church  in  R.  E.,  p.  318  f. 


Sec.  I.  The  Co7iiinz  to  Rome. 


'i3 


347 


among  commentators.  Blass  is  inclined  to  seek  a  change 
of  text,  giving  the  sense  "  we  proceeded  on  our  way 
{imperfect)  to  Rome,  then  we  came  to  Appii  Forum, 
etc.,  and  finally  we  entered  Rome ".  Others  prefer  other 
interpretations.  But  the  double  expression  seems  due 
to  the  double  sense  that  every  name  of  a  city-state 
bears  in  Greek  :  the  word  Rome  might  either  inchide 
the  entire  territory  of  the  city,  the  XXXV  tribes  as  they 
were  completed  in  B.C.  241,  i.e.,  the  whole  ager  Rotnanus, 
or  be  restricted  to  the  walls  and  buildings.  Thus  v.  13, 
"  we  reached  the  state  Rome,"  the  bounds  of  which 
were  probably  pointed  out  as  the  party  reached  them  ; 
in  14,  "  we  passed  through  two  points  in  the  ager 
Romanus"  \  and  in  15,  "we  entered  the  (walls  of)  Rome" 
(see  p.  Ill), 

It  is  evident  that  Paul,  when  he  reached  this  crisis 
of  his  fate,  was  feeling  dispirited  ;  for  the  tendency  to 
low  spirits  is  always  one  of  the  most  trying  concomi- 
tants of  his  chronic  disorder,  as  described  in  Ch.  V  §  2. 
The  allusions  to  the  consolation  that  he  received  from 
meeting  Brethren  at  Puteoli,  Appius's  Forum,  and  the 
Three  Taverns,  must  be  taken  as  indications  of  some 
marked  frame  of  mind.  We  have  already  observed  him 
in  a  similar  state  of  depression  when  he  was  in  Troas  and 
Philippi  (p.  283  f.). 

When  the  party  reached  Rome,  the  centurion  delivered 
his  charge  to  his  superior  officer,  who  bears  the  title 
Chief  of  the  Camp  {Stratopedarch)  in  the  Greek  text. 
This  title  has  always  hitherto  been  interpreted  as  denoting 
the  Prefect  of  the  Praetorian  Guard,  stationed  in  a  large 
camp  adjoining  the  walls  of  Rome.  But  that  interpreta- 
tion  is    not  well   suited    either   to  the   natural    character 


348  St.  Paid  in  Rome.  Chap.  XV. 

of  language  or  to  the  facts  of  the  Roman  service.  The 
title  could  not  properly  designate  an  officer  of  such 
high  rank  ;  and  the  Praetorian  Prefect  would  hardly  be 
concerned  with  a  comparatively  humble  duty  like  the 
reception  of  and  responsibility  for  prisoners.  The  Greek 
title  Stratopedarch  very  rarely  occurs  ;  and  it  remained 
for  Mommsen,  aided  by  the  form  given  in  an  old  Latin 
version,  Princeps  Peregrinorum,  to  explain  who  the 
officer  really  was,  and  to  place  the  whole  episode  of 
Paul's  Roman  residence  in  a  new  light  (see  p.  315). 

Augustus  had  reduced  to  a  regular  system  the  main- 
tenance of  communications  between  the  centre  of  control 
in  Rome  and    the   armies  stationed  in  the  great  frontier 
provinces.       Legionary     centurions,      called      commonly 
fnimentarii,   went   to   and    fro    between    Rome    and   the 
armies  ;   and  were  employed  for  numerous  purposes  that 
demanded    communication    between     the    Emperor    and 
his    armies    and    provinces.     They    acted    not    only    for 
commissariat     purposes     (whence     the     name),      but     as 
couriers,   and    for    police    purposes,    and    for  conducting 
prisoners  ;  and  in  time  they  became  detested  as  agents  and 
spies    of    Government.      They    all    belonged    to    legions 
stationed   in   the   provinces,   and   were   considered   to   be 
on  detached  duty  when  they  went  to  Rome  ;  and  hence 
in    Rome   they   were   "  soldiers   from   abroad,"   peregrini. 
While  in   Rome  they  resided  in  a  camp  on  the  Caslian 
Hill,   called    Castra   Peregrinorufn  ;    in   this    camp   there 
were  always  a  number  of  them  present,  changing   from 
day  to  day,  as  some  came  and  others  went  away.     This 
camp  was  under  command  of  the  Princeps  Peregrinorum  ; 
and  it  is  clear  that  Stratopedarch  in  Acts  is  the  Greek  name 
for  that  officer  (see  p.  315). 


Sec.  I.  The  Coming  to  Rome.  349 


This  whole  branch  of  the  service  is  very  obscure. 
Marquardt  considers  that  it  was  first  organised  by 
Hadrian  ;  but  Mommsen  believes  that  it  must  have  been 
instituted  by  Augustus. 

2,  THE  RESIDENCE  IN  ROME.  Paul  was  treated 
in  Rome  with  the  utmost  leniency.  He  was  allowed 
to  hire  a  house  or  a  lodging  in  the  city,  and  live  there 
at  his  own  convenience  under  the  surveillance  of  a  soldier 
who  was  responsible  for  his  presence  when  required. 
A  light  chain  fastened  Paul's  wrist  to  that  of  the  soldier. 
No  hindrance  was  offered  to  his  inviting  friends  into 
his  house,  or  to  his  preaching  to  all  who  came  in  to 
him  ;  but  he  was  not  allowed  to  go  out  freely. 

After  the  depression  of  spirit  in  which  Paul  entered 
Rome,  Acts  concludes  with  a  distinct  implication  of 
easier  and  more  hopeful  circumstances.  His  work  went 
on  unimpeded,  while  the  rest  after  the  fatigue  and  hard- 
ships of  the  voyage  would  be  beneficial  to  his  physical 
health  (even  though  September  might  afterwards  prove 
unhealthy)  ;  and  thus  the  two  chief  reasons  for  his 
gloomy  frame  of  mind  on  landing  in  Italy  were  removed. 
He  regarded  himself  as  "  an  ambassador  in  a  chain " 
{Eph.  VI  20)  ;  he  asked  for  the  prayers  of  the  Colossians 
and  the  Asian  Churches  generally  for  his  success  in 
preaching;  his  tone  is  hopeful  and  full  of  energy  and 
spirit  for  the  work  (/.  c.  Col.  IV  3,  4)  ;  and  he  looked 
forward  to  acquittal  and  a  visit  to  Colossai  {Philem. 
22).  We  may  date  these  letters  to  Philemon,  to  Colossai, 
and  to  the  Asian  Churches  generally  {Eph.)  near  the 
middle  of  the  long  imprisonment ;  an  accurate  date  is 
impossible,  but  for  brevity's  sake  we  may  speak  of 
their  date  as  early  m  61, 


350  SL  Pattl  in  Rome.  Chap.  XV. 

The  presence  of  many  friends  in  Rome  also  cheered 
Paul.  He  had  been  permitted  to  take  two  personal 
attendants  with  him  from  Caesareia  ;  but  though  his 
other  companions  in  Jerusalem  were  prevented  from 
accompanying  him  in  his  voyage,  some  of  them  followed 
him'  to  Rome.  Timothy  was  with  him  during  great  part 
of  his  imprisonment,  was  sent  on  a  mission  to  Philippi 
about  the  end  of  6i  {Phil.  II  19),  and  thereafter  seems 
to  have  had  his  headquarters  in  Asia,  whence  he  was 
summoned  by  Paul  to  join  him  during  his  second 
imprisonment.  Tychicus  also  joined  Paul  in  Rome  in 
60,  and  was  sent  on  a  mission  to  Asia,  and  especially 
to  the  Churches  of  the  Lycos  valley,  early  in  61.  They 
probably  left  Caesareia  when  Paul  sailed  for  Rome, 
visited  on  the  way  their  own  homes,  and  arrived  in 
Rome  not  long  after  Paul  himself. 

Moreover,  Mark,  who  had  become  reconciled  with 
Paul  (probably  during  his  residence  at  Jerusalem,  or 
his  imprisonment  in  Caesareia),  came  also  to  Rome. 
He  left  Rome  in  61,  contemplating  an  extended  tour 
in  the  province  Asia,  in  the  course  of  which  he  would 
probably  visit  Colossal.  Oral  instructions  had  been  already 
sent  to  the  Colossians,  and,  doubtless,  other  Pauline 
Churches  (probably  by  Onesimus  and  Tychicus),  to 
welcome  him  as  Paul's  deputy  ;  and  Paul  writes  to  the 
Colossians  a  formal  recommendation  of  him  (IV  10). 
The  terms  in  which  Paul  speaks  suggest  that  he  had 
not  taken  any  active  interest  in  the  new  Pauline 
Churches  since  the  unfortunate  quarrel  in  Pamphylia, 
and  that  there  was  likely  to  be  some  coldness  towards 
him  among  the  Pauline  Christians.  From  this  year, 
apparently,  began  a   new  era   in    Mark's   life.     His  work 


Sec.  2,  The  Residence  in  Rome.  351 

seems  to  have  lain  in  Asia  during  the  next  few  years, 
for  about  the  close  of  his  life  Paul  bids  Timothy 
(IV  11)  bring  Mark  with  him  to  Rome,  implying 
that  they  were  near  each  other  ;  and  Timothy  was 
in  Ephesus  at  the  time.  Probably  Paul  had  been 
informed  of  Mark's  desire  to  rejoin  him  in  his  troubles. 
At  a  later  date  Mark  is  associated  with  the  greeting  of 
I  Peter  V  13  to  the  Churches  of  the  provinces  of  Asia 
Minor,  in  such  a  way  as  to  imply  personal  acquaintance 
with  them  ;  and  this  wide  range  of  work,  though  not 
easily  reconcilable  with  the  earlier  dates  assigned  to  that 
Epistle,  suits  naturally  and  well  the  date  about  80 
[Church  in  R.  E.,  p.  280  f).  On  this  view  Mark  after 
Paul's  death  must  have  devoted  himself  to  work  in  the 
more  easterly  provinces  of  Asia  Minor ;  and  returned  to 
Rome  ten  or  twelve  years  later. 

It  is  remarkable  that  Luke  has  not  a  word  to  say 
about  the  process  by  which  Christianity  spread  to 
Rome ;  but,  according  to  the  plan  which  we  have  already 
seen  to  be  shadowed  forth  for  the  sequel  of  this  history, 
the  process  would  form  part  of  the  contemplated  Third 
Book.  That  Book  would  naturally  open  with  a  brief 
statement  of  the  western  dispersion  and  the  planting 
of  Christianity  in  Italy,  going  back  for  the  ,  moment  to 
an  earlier  date,  just  as  in  XI  27  the  historian,  when  he 
has  to  include  Antioch  in  the  stage  of  his  drama,  turns 
back  to  the  movement  originating  in  Stephen's  work. 
So  here  he  brings  Paul  to  Rome;  and  thereafter  he 
would  probably  have  made  a  new  start  with  the 
Churches  of  the  West  and  the  new  impulse  imparted 
to  them  by  Paul's  acquittal.  We  are  compelled  to  make 
some   conjecture   on   this  point ;   for   no   one   can    accept 


OO' 


SL  Paul  in  Rome.  Chap.  XV. 


the  ending  of  Acts  as  the  conclusion  of  a  rationally 
conceived  history.  Such  an  ending  might  exist  in  a 
diary,  which  has  no  determining  idea,  but  not  in  a 
history ;  and  we,  who  work  on  the  hypothesis  that  Acts 
is  a  history,  must  strive  to  understand  the  guiding  idea 
of  an  unfinished  work. 

According  to  modern  ideas,  the  rapidity  with  which 
«very  movement  in  the  provinces  influenced  Rome  is 
a  sign  of  strong  vitality  and  intimate  union  of  the  parts 
of  that  vast  Empire.  The  Imperial  policy  fostered  inter- 
communication and  unity  to  the  utmost ;  and  it  is  not 
too  much  to  say  that  travelling  was  more  highly  de- 
veloped, and  the  dividing  power  of  distance  was  weaker, 
under  the  Empire  than  at  any  time  before  or  since, 
until  we  come  down  to  the  present  century.  But  that 
fact,  which  we  estimate  as  probably  the  best  measure 
of  material  civilisation,  was  regarded  with  horror  by  the 
party  of  old  Roman  thought  and  manners,  which  was 
stubbornly  opposed  in  mind  to  the  Imperial  rule,  though 
it  was  powerless  against  it.  They  saw  that  the  old 
Roman  character  was  changed,  and  the  old  Roman 
ideals  of  life  and  government  were  destroyed,  by  the 
influx  of  provincial  thoughts  and  manners.  The  Orontes 
was  pouring  its  waters  into  the  Tiber;  Syrian  and  Greek 
vices  were  substituted  for  Roman  virtues ;  and  prominent 
among  these  vices  were  Judaism,  Christianity,  and  other 
"  debasing  superstitions  ". 

The  new  movement  made  marked  progress  in  the  vast 
Imperial  household  ;  and  Paul,  in  sending  to  the 
Philippian  Church  the  greetings  of  the  Roman  Christians, 
says,  "All  the  saints  salute  you,  especially  they  that  are 
of  Csesar's   household ".      This   is   quite   to  be   expected. 


Sec.  2.  The  Residence  m  Rome. 


353 


The  Imperial  household  was  at  the  centre  of  affairs  and 
in  most  intimate  relations  with  all  parts  of  the  Empire ; 
and  in  it  influences  from  the  provinces  were  most  certain 
to  be  felt  early.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Lightfoot 
is  right  in  considering  that  Christianity  effected  an 
entrance  into  Caesar's  household  before  Paul  entered 
Rome ;  in  all  probability  he  is  right  also  in  thinking 
that  all  the  slaves  of  Aristobulus  (son  of  Herod  the 
Great)  and  of  Narcissus  (Claudius's  favourite  freedman) 
had  passed  into  the  Imperial  household,  and  that 
members  of  these  two  familice  are  saluted  as  Christians 
by  Paul  {Rom.  XVI  lo  f). 

3.  SENECA  AND  PAUL.  The  question  has  been 
much  discussed  what  relation,  if  any,  existed  be- 
tween Seneca  and  Paul  at  this  time.  A  tradition 
existed  in  the  fourth  century  that  they  had  been 
brought  into  close  relation.  It  is,  however,  exceedingly 
doubtful  whether  this  tradition  had  any  other  founda- 
tion than  the  remarkable  likeness  that  many  of 
Seneca's  phrases  and  sentiments  show  to  passages  in 
the  New  Testament.  But,  however  striking  these  ex- 
tracts seem  when  collected  and  looked  at  apart  from 
their  context,  I  think  that  a  careful  consideration  of 
them  as  they  occur  in  the  books,  must  bring  every  one 
to  the  conclusion  advocated  by  Lightfoot,  by  Aube,  and 
by  many  others,  that  the  likeness  affords  no  proof  that 
Seneca  came  into  such  relations  with  Paul  as  to  be 
influenced  in  his  sentiments  by  him  :  resemblances  quite 
as  striking  occur  in  works  written  before  Paul  came  to 
Rome  (according  to  the  received,  although  not  always 
absolutely  certain,  chronology   of  Seneca's    works),  as  in 

those    written    after.     Nor    was   it   among    the    professed 

23 


354  '^^-  P(^^t'^  in  Rome.  Chap.  XV. 

philosophers  that  Paul  was  likely  to  be  listened  to : 
they  considered  that  they  knew  all  he  had  to  say,  and 
could  quote  from  their  own  lectures  a  good  moral  pre- 
cept to  set  alongside  of  anything  he  could  tell  them. 

Yet  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  some  very  striking 
parallels  between  Senecan  and  Pauline  sayings  occur ; 
and  this  is  true  of  Seneca  to  a  greater  extent  than  of 
any  other  non-Christian  writer.  It  is  possible  that  the 
philosophical  school  of  Tarsus  had  exercised  more 
influence  on  Paul  than  is  commonly  allowed  ;  and  it  is 
certain  that  Seneca  was  influenced  by  Athenodorus  of 
Tarsus.  Lightfoot  refers  especially  to  the  fact  that  both 
Paul  and  Seneca  "  compare  life  to  a  warfare,  and 
describe  the  struggle  after  good  as  a  contest  with  the 
flesh  ".  Seneca  makes  one  long  quotation  from  Atheno- 
dorus (de  Clem.^  4),  and  in  it  the  idea  that  life  is  a 
warfare  is  worked  out  elaborately ;  and  the  saying 
{Ep.  X),  "  So  live  with  men,  as  if  God  saw  you  ;  so 
speak  with  God,  as  if  men  heard  you,"  occurs  immedi- 
ately after  a  quotation  from  Athenodorus,^  and  seems 
to  be  a  reflection  in  Seneca's  words  of  Athenodorus's 
intention.  Athenodorus  lived  much  in  Rome,  and 
died  there  in  Cato's  house,  60-50  B.C.  ;  but  it  is  probable 
both  that  his  system  exercised  great  influence  in  the 
university  of  his  own  city,  and  that  Paul's  expression 
and  language  may  contain  traces  of  his  university 
training  in  Tarsus. 

But  though  there  is  no  reason  to  think  that  Seneca 
was  influenced  by  Paul's  language  or  thoughts,  yet  there 

^  "  Know  that  you  are  set  free  from  passions  only  when  you 
have  reached  such  a  stage  that  you  ask  God  for  nothing  which 
you  cannot  ask  openly." 


Sec.  3.  Seneca  and  Paul,  355 

is  every  reason  to  think  that  the  Hberal  policy  of  the 
Empire  at  this  period  in  religion  was  due  to  Seneca's 
broad  views.  It  is  certain  that  he  had  exercised  very 
great  influence  on  the  Imperial  policy,  since  his  pupil 
Nero  became  Emperor  in  54  ;  and  it  is  highly  probable 
that  the  energy  with  which  that  policy  was  carried  out 
in  the  East,  and  the  generous  freedom  with  which  all 
religious  questions  were  treated  during  that  period,  are 
due  to  Seneca's  spirit.  He  is  perhaps  the  only  dis- 
tinguished politician  of  the  first  century  who  shows 
some  of  the  wide  views  of  Hadrian ;  and  it  is  remark- 
able that  both  Seneca  and  Hadrian  were  sprung  from 
Spain,  being  thus  thoroughly  Roman  and  yet  absolutely 
free  from  the  old  narrow  Roman  spirit.  It  is  clear  that,  in 
the  later  years  of  Nero's  reign,  the  Empire  began  to 
fall  into  dangerous  disorganisation,  while  in  his  early 
years  the  government  at  home  and  abroad  seems  to 
have  been  remarkably  successful ;  and  it  is  not  easy  to 
account  for  the  contrast,  except  by  connecting  the  success 
with  Seneca's  guiding  spirit.  Now,  the  tone  which  marks 
the  relations  of  the  State  to  Paul  throughout  the  period 
described  in  Acis^  is  quite  different  from  that  which 
began  in  A.D.  64  and  subsequently  became  intensified. 
Surely  we  can  best  account  for  the  change  by  the 
disgrace  and  retirement  of  Seneca  in  62 :  his  spirit 
departed  from  the  administration  by  rapid  steps  after 
that  date.  Circumstances  had  given  him  for  a  few  years 
such  influence  as  perhaps  never  again  was  exercised  by 
a  private  citizen  in  the  Empire.  As  a  rule,  the  Emperors 
held  the  reins  of  government  tight  in  their  own  hands,  and 
allowed  no  subordinate  to  exert  any  influence  on  the 
general    conduct   of   affairs ;    and    there   are    many   great 


35^  SL  Paul  in  Rome.  Chap.  XV. 

Emperors,  but  only  one  great  Minister  under  the  Empire, 
Seneca. 

The  household  of  Seneca  during  his  ascendancy  was 
likely  to  be  brought  into  close  relations  with  the  great 
movements  that  were  agitating  the  Empire.  It  is  there- 
fore natural  to  expect  that  the  new  religion  should  affect 
it  in  some  degree,  as  it  did  the  Imperial  household.  Nor 
are  we  left  to  mere  conjecture  on  this  point.  A  remark- 
able inscription  of  somewhat  later  date  has  been  found 
at  Ostia,  "  M,  Annaeus  Paulus  to  M.  Annaeus  Paulus 
Petrus,  his  very  dear  son : "  the  name  "  Paul  Peter "  must 
be  taken  as  an  indubitable  proof  of  religion.  These 
persons  possibly  belong  to  a  family  of  freedmen  con- 
nected with  the  household  of  Seneca ;  but,  assuming  that, 
it  is  no  more  admissible  to  quote  this  inscription  as  corro- 
borating Seneca's  traditional  subjection  to  Christianity, 
than  it  would  be  to  quote  the  strong  leaven  of  Christianity 
in  Caesar's  household  in  proof  of  Caesar's  amenability  to  the 
same  influence. 

4.  THE  TRIAL.  It  IS  doubtful  why  Paul's  trial  was 
so  long  delayed.  Perhaps  his  opponents,  despairing  of 
obtaining  his  condemnation,  preferred  to  put  off  the  trial 
as  long  as  possible ;  and  there  were  then,  as  there  are 
now,  many  devices  in  law  for  causing  delay.  Perhaps 
the  case  was  being  inquired  into  by  the  Imperial  Office: 
the  trial  had  to  take  place  before  the  Emperor  or  one 
of  his  representatives  (probably  one  of  the  two  Prefects 
of  the  Praetorian  Guard).  The  whole  question  of  free 
teaching  of  an  oriental  religion  by  a  Roman  citizen 
must  have  been  opened  up  by  the  case  ;  and  it  is  quite 
possible  that  Paul's  previous  proceedings  were  inquired 
intow 


Sec.  4.  The   Trial.  357 

The  trial  seems  to  have  occurred  towards  the  end 
of  A.D.  61.  Its  earhest  stages  were  over  before  Paul 
wrote  to  the  Philippians,  for  he  says,  I  12,  "the  things 
which  happened  unto  me  have  fallen  out  rather  unto  the 
progress  of  the  Good  News  ;  so  that  my  bonds  became 
manifest  in  Christ  in  the  whole  Preetorium,  and  to  all 
the  rest ;  and  that  most  of  the  Brethren  in  the  Lord, 
being  confident  in  my  bonds,  are  more  abundantly  bold 
to  speak  the  word  of  God  without  fear".  This  passage 
has  been  generally  misconceived  and  connected  with  the 
period  of  imprisonment  ;  and  here  again  we  are  indebted 
to  Mommsen  for  the  proper  interpretation.  The  Free- 
torium  is  the  whole  body  of  persons  connected  with  the 
sitting  in  judgment,  the  supreme  Imperial  Court,  doubt- 
less in  this  case  the  Prefect  or  both  Prefects  of  the 
Prsetorian  Guard,  representing  the  Emperor  in  his 
capacity  as  the  fountain  of  justice,  together  with  the 
assessors  and  high  officers  of  the  court.  The  expression 
of  the  chapter  as  a  whole  shows  that  the  trial  is  partly 
finished,  and  the  issue  as  yet  is  so  favourable  that  the 
Brethren  are  emboldened  by  the  success  of  Paul's 
courageous  and  free-spoken  defence  and  the  strong  im- 
pression which  he  evidently  produced  on  the  court ;  but 
he  himself,  being  entirely  occupied  with  the  trial,  is  for 
the  moment  prevented  from  preaching  as  he  had  been 
doing  when  he  wrote  to  the  Colossians  and  the  Asian 
Churches  generally. 

That  Philippians  was  written  near  the  end  of  the 
imprisonment  has  been  widely  recognised,  though  the 
powerful  opposition  of  Lightfoot  has  carried  away  the 
general  current  of  opinion  in  England.  When  Paul 
was   writing   to   the   Church   at    Philippi,   his    custom   of 


358  6"/.  Paul  in  Rome.  Chap.  XV. 

sending  his  subordinates  on  missions  had  stripped  him 
of  companions  ;  and  so  he  says,  "  I  have  no  man  Hke- 
minded  {with  Timothy)  who  will  show  genuine  care  for 
your  state,  for  they  all  seek  their  own,  not  the  things 
of  Jesus  Christ,  but  ye  recognise  his  proved  character  " 
{Phil.  II  20  f.).  It  seems  impossible  to  believe  that  Paul 
could  have  written  like  this,  if  he  had  had  with  him 
Tychicus,  "  faithful  minister  and  fellow-servant  in  the 
Lord,"  Aristarchus,  Mark,  and  above  all  Luke.  Yet, 
if  anything  is  sure  about  that  period,  it  is  that 
Aristarchus  and  Luke  had  been  with  Paul  from  his 
arrival  in  Rome  till  after  Co  loss.,  Philem.  and  Eph. 
were  written,  while  Tychicus  probably  joined  him  with 
Timothy  in  60.  On  our  supposition,  Mark  and  Tychicus 
had  already  been  sent  on  missions  to  Asia  ;  Luke  is 
either  the  "true  yoke-fellow"  addressed  in  PJiil.  IV  3, 
or  was  actually  the  bearer  of  the  letter  to  Philippi  ; 
Aristarchus  also  had  been  sent  on  a  mission  during  the 
summer  of  61  ;  and  Epaphras  naturally  had  returned 
to  the  Lycos  valley.  There  remained  some  friends  with 
Paul  (IV  21),  probably  Demas  among  them  {Col.  IV  14, 
Philem.  24) ;  but  he  did  not  feel  sure  of  their  thorough 
trustworthiness,  and  his  doubt  about  Demas  was  after- 
wards justified  (II  Tim.  IV  10).  Hence  his  eagerness 
to  get  back  to  the  company  of  real  and  trusty  friends 
(II  24  ff.). 

Amid  the  general  tone  of  hopefulness  and  confidence 
in  Philippians,  there  are  some  touches  of  depression, 
which  may  be  attributed  to  the  absence  of  so  many 
intimate  friends,  to  the  increased  strain  that  the  trial 
now  proceeding  must  have  put  on  his  powers  (p.  94  f.), 
and  to  the    probable   closer   confinement   necessitated  by 


Sec.  4.  The   Trial.  359 

the  trial,  that  he  might  always  be  accessible  in  case  of 
need.  There  is  more  eagerness  for  the  issue  of  the  long 
proceedings  manifest  in  Phil,  than  in  the  other  letters 
from  Rome  ;  but  it  is  part  of  human  nature  to  be  more 
patient  when  the  end  is  still  far  off,  and  more  excited 
and  eager  as  the  end  approaches. 

The  letter  to  Philippi  was  not  called  forth  by  any 
dangerous  crisis  there,  as  were  the  letters  to  Colossai 
and  to  the  Asian  Churches  generally  {Epk.).  Hence  Col. 
and  Eph.  "exhibit  a  more  advanced  stage  in  the 
development  of  the  Church"  than  Phil.  Lightfoot  and 
others  are  indubitably  right  in  that  point  ;  but  their 
inference  that  Phil,  was  written  earlier  than  the  others 
does  not  follow.  The  tone  of  Col.  and  Eph.  is  deter- 
mined by  the  circumstances  of  the  Churches  addressed. 
The  great  cities  of  Asia  were  on  the  highway  of  the 
world,  which  traversed  the  Lycos  valley,  and  in  them 
development  took  place  with  great  rapidity.  But 
the  Macedonians  were  a  simple-minded  people  in  com- 
parison with  Ephesus  and  Laodiceia  and  Colossai,  living 
further  away  from  the  great  movements  of  thought.  It 
was  not  in  Paul's  way  to  send  to  Philippi  an  elaborate 
treatise  against  a  subtle  speculative  heresy,  which  had 
never  affected  that  Church.  His  letter  was  called  forth  by 
the  gifts  which  had  been  sent  by  the  Philippians ;  it  is 
a  recognition  of  their  thoughtful  kindness  ;  and  hence  it 
has  a  marked  character,  being  "  the  noblest  reflection  of 
St.  Paul's  personal  character  and  spiritual  illumination, 
his  large  sympathies,  his  womanly  tenderness,  his  deli- 
cate courtesy"  (to  use  once  more  the  words  of  Lightfoot), 
It  is  plain  that  he  did  not  actually  need  the  help  that 
they    now    sent ;     but     his    gratitude    is    as    warm    and 


360  S^.  Paul  in  Rome.  Chap.  XV. 

genuine  as  if  he  had  been  in  deep  need,  and  he  recurs 
to  the  former  occasions  when  his  real  poverty  had  been 
aided  by  them.  The  freedom  from  anxiety  about  the 
development  at  Philippi,  and  the  hearty  affection  for 
kind  friends,  make  this  in  many  respects  the  most 
pleasing  of  all  Paul's  letters. 

Though  prepared  to  face  death  if  need  be,  Paul  was 
comparatively  confident  of  the  issue  when  he  wrote  to 
Philippi  :  "  I  have  the  confident  conviction  that  I  shall 
remain  and  abide  for  you  all  to  your  progress  and  joy  of 
believing,"  and  "  I  trust  that  I  shall  come  to  you  shortly  ". 
That  he  was  acquitted  is  demanded  both  by  the  plan  evident 
in  Acts  (p.  308)  and  by  other  reasons  well  stated  by  others. 

5.  LAST  TRIAL  AND  DEATH  OF  PAUL.  His  later 
career  is  concealed  from  us,  for  the  hints  contained  in  the 
Pastoral  Epistles  hardly  furnish  even  an  outline  of  his 
travels,  which  must  have  lasted  three  or  four  years,  62-65 
A.D.  At  his  second  trial  the  veil  that  hides  his  fate  is 
raised  for  the  moment.  On  that  ^occasion  the  circum- 
stances were  very  different  from  his  first  trial.  His  con- 
finement was  more  rigorous,  for  Onesiphorus  had  to 
take  much  trouble  before  obtaining  an  interview  with 
the  prisoner  (H  Tim.  I  17):  "he  fared  ill  as  far  as 
bonds,  like  a  criminal"  (H  9).  He  had  no  hope  of 
acquittal :  he  recognised  that  he  was  "  already  being 
poured  forth  as  an  offering,  and  the  time  of  his  de- 
parture was  come ".  The  gloom  and  hopelessness  of  the 
situation  damped  and  dismayed  all  his  friends :  at  his 
first  hearing  "  all  forsook "  him  ;  yet  for  the  time  he 
"  was  delivered  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  lion  ".  In  every 
respect  the  situation  thus  indicated  is  the  opposite  of  the 
circumstances  described  on  the  first  trial.     Phil,  occupies 


Sec.  5.        Last   Trial  and  Death  of  Paul.  361 

the  same  place  in  the  first  as  1 1  Tim.  in  the  second  trial ; 
but  Phil,  looks  forward  to  a  fresh  career  among  the 
Churches,  while  II  Tim.  is  the  testament  of  a  dying  man. 
In  one  respect,  however,  the  second  trial  was  like  the 
first.  Paul  again  defended  himself  in  the  same  bold  and 
outspoken  way  as  before,  expounding  the  principles  of 
his  Hfe  to  a  great  audience,  "that  all  the  Gentiles  might 
hear". 

Yet  the  circumstances  of  this  second  trial  are  totally 
different  from  that  "short  way  with  the  dissenters" 
which  was  customary  under  Domitian  and  Trajan  and 
later  Emperors.  After  his  first  examination  Paul  could 
still  write  to  Asia  bidding  Timothy  and  Mark  come  to 
him,  which  shows  that  he  looked  forward  to  a  considerable 
interval  before  the  next  stage  of  his  trial.  He  was  charged 
as  a  malefactor,  crimes  had  to  be  proved  against  him,  and 
evidence  brought ;  and  the  simple  acknowledgment  that  he 
was  a  Christian  was  still  far  from  sufficient  to  condemn 
him,  as  it  was  under  Domitian.  It  is  a  plausible  conjecture 
of  Conybeare  and  Howson  that  the  first  hearing,  on  which 
he  was  acquitted  and  "  delivered  out  of  the  lion's  mouth," 
was  on  the  charge  of  complicity  and  sympathy  with  the 
incendiaries,  who  had  burned  Rome  in  64  ;  and  that  charge 
was  triumphantly  disproved.  The  trial  in  that  case  did 
not  occur  until  the  first  frenzy  of  terror  and  rage  against 
the  supposed  incendiaries  was  over  ;  and  some  other  species 
of  crime  had  to  be  laid  to  the  account  of  the  Christians 
charged  before  the  courts.  The  second  and  fatal  charge, 
heard  later,  was  doubtless  that  of  treason,  shown  by  hostility 
to  the  established  customs  of  society,  and  by  weakening 
the  Imperial  authority. 

If  our  conception  of  the  trial  is  correct,  the  precedent  of 


362  S^.   Paul  in  Rome.  Chap.  XV. 


the  first  great  trial  still  guided  the  courts  of  the  empire  (as 
we  have  elsewhere  sought  to  prove).  It  had  then  been 
decided  that  the  preaching  of  the  new  religion  was  not  in 
itself  a  crime ;  and  that  legal  offences  must  be  proved 
against  Christians  as  against  any  other  subjects  of  the 
empire.  That  was  the  charter  of  freedom  (p.  282)  which 
was  abrogated  shortly  after ;  and  part  of  Luke's  de- 
sign was,  as  we  have  seen  (p.  307),  to  record  the  circum- 
stances in  which  the  charter  had  been  obtained,  as  a  protest 
against  the  Flavian  policy,  which  had  overturned  a  well- 
weighed  decision  of  the  supreme  court. 

Note.  Text  of  XXVIII  16.  The  failure  in  the  great 
MSS.  of  the  delivery  of  Paul  to  the  Stratopedar  h  is  a 
very  clear  case  of  omitting  a  Lukan  detail,  which  had  only 
a  mundane  interest ;  and  the  failure  of  similar  details  in 
XXVII  5,  XVI  30,  etc.,  may  be  estimated  by  the  analogy 
of  this  case. 


CHAPTER  XVI.  ' 

CHRONOLOGY  OF  EARLY  CHURCH  HISTORY— 30-40  A.D. 

I.  THE  STATE  OF  THE  CHURCH  IN  A.D.  30. 
The  chronological  difficulty  has  probably  weighed  with 
many,  as  it  has  with  Lightfoot  {Ed.  Gal.  p.  124),  in  re- 
jecting the  identification  which  we  advocate  of  the  visit 
in  Acts  XV  with  that  in  Gal.  II  i-io.  It  is  therefore 
necessary  to  glance  briefly  at  the  chronology  of  the  early 
chapters  of  Acts^  in  order  to  show  that  there  is  no  real 
difficulty  for  those  who  (like  Lightfoot)  date  the  Cruci- 
fixion in  A.D.  30.  Our  identification,  if  proved,  would 
make  it  certain  that  the  Death  of  Christ  cannot  be  dated 
so  late  as  33. 

Luke's  historical  method  required  him  in  the  opening 
of  his  Second  Book  to  give  a  full  account  of  the 
first  condition  of  the  Church  in  Jerusalem,  and  then  to 
concentrate  attention  on  the  critical  steps  and  persons  by 
whom  the  Universal  Church  was  moulded  to  the  form  it 
had  in  his  time. 

In  I,  after  a  short  preamble,  connecting  the  narrative 
with  the  preceding  book,  he  describes  how  the  number  of 
the  Apostles  was  filled  up.  The  organisation  of  the 
Church  was  always  a  subject  of  keen  interest  to  Luke ; 
he  "  evidently  had  the  impression  that  the  guidance  of 
affairs  rested  with  the  Apostles  in  Jerusalem  "  (p.  53) ;  and 

(363) 


364  Chronology  of  Early  Church  History.  Chap.  XVI, 


the  appointment  of  this  important  official  was  in  his 
estimation  a  matter  of  great  moment.  Peter  took  the 
lead  ;  two  were  selected  by  common  agreement  and  vote  ; 
and  out  of  these  the  lot  showed  which  was  preferred  by 
the  Divine  will. 

In  II  1-42  the  events  of  Pentecost  (May  26,  A.D.  30), 
and  the  effect  produced  on  the  character  of  the  converts, 
are  described  ;  and  the  general  state  and  conduct  of  this 
primitive  Church  is  summed  up  in  II  43-47. 

The  second  part  of  II  47,  "the  Lord  added  to  them 
day  by  day  those  that  were  being  saved,"  is  one  of  those 
phrases  in  which  Luke  often  hits  off  a  long,  steady,  uni- 
form process.  It  is  to  be  taken  as  a  general  description  of 
subsequent  progress  in  Jerusalem,  during  the  course  of 
which  occurred  the  events  next  related. 

The  space  devoted  by  Luke  to  Pentecost  shows  that  he 
considered  the  events  of  that  day  to  be  of  the  highest  im- 
portance. On  that  day  the  Divine  grace  was  given  to  the 
Apostles,  qualifying  them  (p.  45)  for  the  work  which  they 
were  now  required  to  perform  since  their  Master  had  left 
them, 

Luke  shov/s  true  historical  insight  in  fixing  the  reader's 
attention  on  Pentecost,  For  the  permanence  of  a  move- 
ment of  this  kind,  much  depends  on  the  successors  of 
the  first  leader  ;  and  the  issue  is  determined  in  the  period 
following  the  leader's  removal.  Has  the  leader  shown  that 
electrical  creative  power  that  remoulds  men  and  communi- 
cates his  own  spirit  to  his  disciples,  or  will  the  movement 
be  found  leaderless  and  spiritless,  when  the  originator  is 
taken  away  ?  While  the  leader  is  with  his  disciples,  they 
have  little  or  no  opportunity  of  showing  independence  and 
originality  and  capacity  for  command.      When  he  is  re- 


Sec.  1.      The  State  of  the  Church  in  a.d.  30.      365 

moved  from  them,  the  first  effect  must  be  discouragement 
and  a  sense  of  emptiness,  proportionate  to  the  influence 
exerted  by  the  leader.  Then  comes  the  real  test,  which 
determines  the  vitality  and  permanence  of  the  movement. 
Has  the  spirit  of  the  founder  descended  on  his  followers  ? 
With  Luke,  and  with  all  the  great  leaders  of  the  first 
century,  that  was  the  test  of  every  new  man  and  every  new 
congregation  :  had  the  Spirit  been  granted  to  them  ? 

In  the  second  month  after  their  leader  was  taken  away, 
on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  the  test  was  fulfilled  in  the  primi- 
tive Church ;  and  the  capacity  of  his  disciples  to  carry  on 
his  work  was  shown.  They  became  conscious  of  the  power 
that  had  been  given  them,  and  their  new  power  was  re- 
cognised by  the  multitude  in  their  words  and  in  their 
looks.  The  same  impression  of  a  transform  2d  and  re- 
created nature  was  made  on  the  elders  and  scribes,  when 
they  examined  Peter  and  John  (IV  13  f.,  see  §  2). 

By  virtue  of  that  Divine  grace,  "  many  wonders 
and  signs  were  done  by  the  Apostles,"  v.  43,  during  the 
following  time.  But  it  is  vital  to  Luke's  method  not  to  rest 
contented  with  that  general  statement,  but  to  give  one 
special,  clear  example  of  the  power  communicated  to  the 
Apostles  and  to  the  Church  of  which  they  were  the  leaders. 
It  would  be  waste  of  time  to  regret  that  he  passes  over  so 
much  that  we  should  like  to  know,  and  devotes  so  much 
space  to  a  marvel  that  is  to  us  a  difficulty  :  our  present 
aim  is  to  understand  the  purpose  of  what  he  does  say,  not 
to  long  after  what  he  omits. 

The  example  is  given  in  III  ;  the  subsequent  events  of 
the  same  day  are  narrated  IV  1-4;  and  the  following  day 
is  described  IV  5-31,  when  Peter  and  John,  in  whom  the 
proof  of  Divine   grace  had   been   shown  forth,  were  ex- 


366  Chronology  of  Early  Church  History.  Chap.  XVI. 

amined  before  a  meeting  of  "  the  rulers  and  elders  and 
scribes  ".  These  are  represented  as  realising  now  for  the 
first  time,  v.  13,  the  change  that  had  come  over  Peter  and 
John,  who  from  "  unlearned  and  ignorant  men  "  had  been 
transformed  into  bold  and  eloquent  preachers.  Evidently 
the  historian  conceives  that  this  transformation,  wrought  at 
Pentecost,  was  now  beginning  to  be  generally  felt  ;  and 
therefore  he  is  still  (as  we  have  said)  describing  the  im- 
mediate issue  of  Pentecost.  Thereafter  comes  a  second 
general  statement  of  the  state  and  character  of  the 
primitive  Church,  startlingly  similar  to  II  43-47. 

Thus  the  whole  passage  II  43-IV  35  hangs  very  closely 
together,  and  describes  the  Church  in  the  period  imme- 
diately succeeding  May  26,  A.D.  30.  Two  episodes  of  this 
period,  exemplifying  the  conduct  of  the  true  and  the  false 
convert,  are  described  IV  36-V  11  ;  and  then  comes  a 
third  general  description  of  the  state  of  the  Church  in  this 
period  V  12-16,  followed  by  a  statement  of  the  attempt 
made  by  the  Jewish  leaders  to  coerce  the  Apostles  into 
silence  V  17-41. 

That  at  least  two  accounts  by  two  different  authorities 
underlie  Luke's  narrative,  and  have  been  worked  up  by 
him  with  little  change,  seems  clear.  It  is,  of  course,  obvious 
that  he  was  entirely  dependent  for  this  period  of  his 
history  on  the  authority  of  other  persons ;  and  we  see  in 
the  Third  Gospel  how  much  he  was  influenced  by  the  very 
language  of  his  authorities,  and  how  little  change  he  made 
on  their  words.^ 

^  Thus  the  particle  \x.iv  ovv,  so  common  in  Acts,  occurs  only 
once  in  the  Third  Gospel,  in  a  passage  peculiar  to  Luke,  III  18. 
In  XXII  56  he  added  the  little  touch  drevLa-aa-a  to  the  narrative  as 
used  by  Matthew  and  Mark,  see  p.  39. 


'^'E.c.  2.  Truslwortkiness  of  the  Narj'-ative,  I-V.    367 

2.  TRUSTWORTHINESS  OF  THE  NARRATIVE, 
Acts  I-V.  It  is  obvious  that  the  trustworthiness  of  this 
part  of  Acts  stands  on  quite  a  different  footing  from  that 
of  the  Pauline  narrative,  which  we  have  hitherto  discussed. 
The  author  had  means  of  knowing  the  later  events  with 
perfect  accuracy  (so  far  as  perfection  can  be  attained  in 
history) ;  but  the  means  which  helped  him  there  fail  in 
I-V,  and  the  scene  and  surroundings  were  to  him  strange 
and  remote  (p.  19  f ).  He  was  here  dependent  entirely  on 
others,  and  it  was  more  difficult  for  him  to  control  and 
make  himself  master  of  the  evolution  of  events.  We 
discern  the  same  guiding  hand  and  mind,  the  same  clear 
historical  insight  seizing  the  great  and  critical  steps,  in 
the  early  chapters,  as  in  the  later ;  but  the  description  of 
the  primitive  Church  wants  precision  in  the  outline  and 
colour  in  the  details.  It  seems  clear  that  the  authorities 
on  which  Luke  depended  were  not  equally  good  ;  and  here 
second-rate  incidents  are  admitted  along  with  first-rate  in 
a  way  that  has  done  his  reputation  serious  injury  in  the 
estimation  of  those  who  begin  to  study  Acts  from  this, 
its  necessarily  weakest  part.  One  or  two  examples  will 
bring  out  our  meaning.  First  we  take  an  incident  related 
also  by  Matthew. 

Matthew  XXVII  5-8.  Acts  I  18-19. 

AND      HE      WENT      AWAY  NOW       THIS       MAN       OB- 

AND  HANGED  HIMSELF.  TAINED  A  FIELD  WITH 
AND  THE  CHIEF  PRIESTS  THE  REWARD  OF  HIS 
TOOK  THE  PIECES  OF  INIQUITY  ;  AND  FALLING 
SILVER,  AND  SAID,  "  IT  IS  HEADLONG,  HE  BURST 
NOT  LAWFUL  TO  PUT  ASUNDER  IN  THE  MIDST, 
THEM  INTO  THE  TREASURY,  AND  ALL  HIS  BOWELS 
SINCE   IT   IS   THE   PRICE   OF      GUSHED   OUT.      AND  IT   BE- 


368  Chronology  of  Early  Church  History.  Chap.  XVI. 

BLOOD  ".  AND  THEY  TOOK  CAME  KNOWN  TO  ALL  THE 
COUNSEL,  AND  BOUGHT  DWELLERS  AT  JERUSALEM  ; 
WITH  THEM  THE  POTTER'S  INSOMUCH  THAT  IN  THEIR 
FIELD,  TO  BURY  STRANGERS  LANGUAGE  THAT  FIELD 
IN.  WHEREFORE  THAT  WAS  CALLED  AKELDAMA, 
FIELD  WAS  CALLED  THE  THAT  IS,  THE  FIELD  OF 
FIELD  OF  BLOOD,  UNTO  BLOOD. 
THIS    DAY. 

There  can  be  no  hesitation  in  accepting  the  vivid  and 
detailed  description  which  Matthew  gives  of  this  incident. 
But,  if  so,  the  account  given  in  Acts  cannot  be  accepted 
as  having  any  claim  to  trustworthiness  in  any  point  of 
discrepancy.  The  character  of  this  account  is  marked, 
and  its  origin  obvious.  It  is  a  growth  of  popular  fancy 
and  tradition,  which  preserved  the  main  facts,  viz.,  the 
connection  between  the  name.  Field  of  Blood,  and  the  price 
paid  to  the  betrayer.  But  it  is  characteristic  of  popular 
tradition,  while  it  preserves  some  central  fact,  to  overlay 
it  with  fanciful  accretions,  which  often  conceal  completely 
the  historical  kernel.  In  this  case,  we  have  the  tale 
arrested  at  an  early  point  in  its  growth,  when  its  elements 
are  still  separable.  The  name  Field  of  Blood  had  to  be 
explained  suitably  to  the  remembered  fact  that  it  was 
bought  with  the  betrayer's  reward ;  but  its  meaning  was 
mistaken.  Popular  fancy  always  craves  for  justice ;  it 
connected  the  name  with  the  betrayer's  punishment,  took 
the  Blood,  which  formed  one  element  of  the  name,  as  the 
betrayer's  blood,  and  evolved  a  myth  which  united  fact 
and  retributory  justice  in  a  moral  apologue. 

It  is  a  remarkable  thing  that  popular  tradition  should 
so  soon  distort  a  tale  so  simple  and  so  impressive.  But 
oriental  tradition  never  clings  to  fact  with  anything  like 


Sec.  2.  Trustworthiness  of  the  Nar^'ative,  I-V.    369 

the  same  tenacity  as  Greek  tradition  ;  and  we  know  how 
much  even  the  latter  distorts  and  covers  over  the  facts 
that  it  preserves.  The  oriental  mind  has  little  or  nothing 
of  the  proper  historical  tone.  It  remembers  facts,  not  for 
their  own  value,  but  for  the  lesson  they  can  convey.  It 
substitutes  the  moral  apologue  for  history  in  the  strict 
sense  of  the  term,  craving  for  the  former,  and  possessing 
little  regard  for  the  latter.  It  acts  with  great  rapidity, 
transforming  the  memory  of  the  past  within  the  lapse  of 
a  few  years  ;  and  probably  those  who  know  the  East  best 
will  find  least  difficulty  in  believing  that  the  story  which 
Luke  here  gives  might  have  been  told  him,  when  the  Field 
of  Blood  was  pointed  out  to  him  at  Jerusalem  in  57  A.D. 

But  in  this  rapid  transformation  of  fact  in  Eastern  popular 
tradition  lies  the  best  safeguard  of  the  historical  student 
against  it.  He  rarely  needs  to  doubt,  as  he  often  must  in 
Greece,  whether  any  narrative  is  history  or  mere  popular 
tradition.  Greek  tradition  often  has  such  a  natural  appear- 
ance that  it  is  hard  to  say  where  fact  ends  and  fancy  begins. 
But  oriental  tradition  is  so  free  in  its  creation,  so  unfettered 
by  any  thought  of  suitability  in  the  accessories,  that  it  is 
marked  off  from  history  by  a  broad  and  deep  gap.  By 
history  we  mean  narrative  founded  on  documents  that 
are  nearly  contemporary  with  the  actual  fact^,  or  on  the 
accounts  of  eye-witnesses,  not  implying  that  "history" 
must  be  absolutely  true.  To  give  a  true  account  ev^en  of 
a  single  incident  that  one  has  actually  participated  in  is  not 
within  the  power  of  all,  for  it  needs  education,  skilJ  in  selec- 
tion, and  an  eye  to  distinguish  the  relative  importance  of 
different  points.  To  give  a  true  account  of  a  long  series  of 
incidents  is,  of  course,  much  more  difficult.     No  history  is 

absolutely  true  ;  all  give  accounts  that  are  more  or  less 

24 


370  Chronology  of  Early  Church  History.  Chap.  XVI. 

distorted  pictures  of  fact.  But  the  conception  of  history  as 
an  attempt  to  represent  facts  in  correct  perspective,  even 
when  it  is  poorly  and  feebly  carried  out,  is  a  great  and 
sacred  possession,  which  we  owe  to  the  Greeks  ;  and  is  a 
generically  different  thing  from  popular  tradition,  which 
aims  either  at  the  moral  apologue,  or  the  glory  of  an 
individual  or  a  family,  and  regards  faithfulness  to  actual 
facts  as  quite  a  secondary  thing. 

The  episode  of  Ananias  and  Sapphira  V  i  f.  excites 
reasonable  suspicion.  That  Ananias  should  be  carried 
forth  and  buried  unknown  to  his  family,  unmourned  by  his 
kindred  and  friends,  is  not  merely  contrary  to  right  con- 
duct, but  violates  the  deepest  feelings  of  oriental  life. 
That  a  man  should  be  properly  lamented  and  wept  for  by 
his  family  is  and  has  always  been  a  sacred  right,  which 
even  crime  does  not  forfeit.  But  the  desire  to  bring  into 
strong  relief  the  unselfishness  of  the  primitive  Church  has 
worked  itself  out  in  a  moral  apologue,  which  has  found  here 
an  entrance  alongside  of  real  history. 

Again  in  II  5-1 1  another  popular  tale  seems  to  ob- 
trude itself.  In  these  verses  the  power  of  speaking  with 
tongues,  which  is  clearly  described  by  Paul  as  a  species  of 
prophesying  (I  Cor.  XII  10  f.,  XIV  i  f.),  is  taken  in  the 
sense  of  speaking  in  many  languages.  Here  again  we 
observe  the  distorting  influence  of  popular  fancy. 

Yet  alongside  of  these  suspicious  stories  we  find 
passages  which  show  strongly  the  characteristic  method 
of  Luke ;  and  the  entire  plan  of  the  narrative,  con- 
centrating attention  on  the  successive  critical  steps,  is 
thoroughly  Lukan.  We  take  one  example  of  a  Lukan 
passage. 

The  incident  in  IV  13  f.  is  especially  characteristic  of 


Sec.  2.  Trustworthiness  of  the  Narrative,  I-  V.    ^y  i 

Luke's  style  ;  and  it  has  been  widely  misunderstood. 
Zeller,  Holtzmann,  Meyer-Wendt  and  others,  understand 
these  verses  to  mean  that  the  members  of  the  Sanhedrim 
became  aware  only  during  the  trial  that  Peter  and  John 
had  been  disciples  of  Jesus  :  which,  as  they  justly  point 
out,  is  most  unnatural  and  unsuitable.  But  the  force  of 
the  passage  seems  to  be  very  different :  the  Jewish  leaders 
perceived  the  bold  and  fluent  speech  of  Peter  and  John  ; 
and  yet  they  observed  from  their  dress  and  style  of 
utterance  that  they  were  not  trained  scholars ;  and  they 
marvelled  (for  there  was  then  probably  an  even  more 
marked  distinction  than  at  the  present  day  between  the 
speech  and  thought  of  a  fisherman  or  shepherd  and  of  an 
educated  person) ;  and  they  further  took  cognisance  of  the 
fact  that  they  were  disciples  of  Jesus  ;  and  they  gazed  on 
the  man  that  had  been  cured  standing  along  with  his  pre- 
servers. These  were  the  facts  of  the  case  :  all  were  un- 
deniable ;  and  all  were  vividly  brought  before  them.  What 
conclusion  could  be  drawn  from  them  ?  The  historian's 
point  is  that  there  was  only  one  possible  inference ;  and,  as 
the  Jewish  leaders  were  unwilling  to  draw  that  inference, 
they  perforce  kept  silence,  not  having  wherewithal  to  dis- 
pute the  obvious  conclusion. 

Here,  as  usual,  the  historian  does  not  himself  draw  the 
inference ;  but  merely  states  the  main  facts,  and  leaves 
them  to  tell  their  own  tale.  But  in  no  passage  does  he 
state  the  facts  in  more  dramatic  form.  The  conclusion 
lies  close  at  hand,  viz.,  that  these  illiterate  fishermen  had 
acquired  the  art  and  power  of  effective  oratory  through 
their  having  been  the  disciples  of  Jesus,  and  through  the 
Divine  grace  and  power  communicated  to  them. 

We  notice  also  that  John's  speech  has  not  previously 


2,"] 2  Ckrono/ogy  of  Early  Church  History.  Chap.  XVI. 

been  mentioned,  yet  now  it  is  assumed  that  he  had  spoken. 
This  is  characteristic  of  the  writer's  style,  as  we  have  seen 
it  in  the  second  part  of  the  work.  It  is  evident  that 
Peter's  single  speech  did  not  exhaust  the  proceedings  at 
the  trial ;  but  Luke  assumes  that  the  reader  conceives  the 
general  situation  and  the  style  of  procedure  in  such  trials  ; 
and  he  quotes  the  most  telling  utterance,  and  leaves  the 
rest  to  the  reader's  imagination. 

We  are  struck  with  the  marked  difference  of  Acts  I-V, 
not  merely  from  the  later  chapters,  but  also  from  Luke's 
First  Book,  the  Gospel.  In  composing  his  Book  I,  he 
had  formal  works  of  a  historical  kind  to  use  for  his 
authorities  {Luke  I  i) ;  and  he  followed  them  very 
closely,  not  giving  scope  to  his  own  method  of  narration 
or  of  grouping.  But  these  formal  works  seem  all  to 
have  ended  either  with  the  death  or  the  ascension  of 
the  Saviour ;  and  the  most  obscure  and  difficult  period 
for  a  historian  writing  about  80-85  A.D.  was  the  time 
that  immediately  succeeded  the  death  of  Jesus.  Luke 
was  dependent  here  on  informal  narratives,  and  on  oral 
tradition  ;  and,  if  we  be  right  in  our  view  that  he  did 
not  live  to  put  the  last  touches  to  his  work,  we  may 
fairly  suppose  that  the  most  difficult  period  was  left 
the  least  perfect  part  of  the  whole.  But  we  must  content 
ourselves  here  with  this  slight  indication  of  a  view  that 
would  require  much  minute  argument  to  state  properly. 
There  is  a  marked  resemblance  between  I-V  and  XIX. 
In  both,  episodes  that  savour  of  popular  fancy  stand 
side  by  side  with  Lukan  work  of  the  best  kind. 

3.  APPOINTMENT  OF  STEPHEN  AND  THE  SEVEN. 
The  first  distinct  step  in  development  from  the  primitive 
condition  of  the  Church,  when  it  was  a  mere  small  and 


Sec.  3.     Appointment  of  Stephen  and  the  Seven,     l']^ 


almost  unorganised  community,  was  due  to  the  pressure  of 
poverty.  In  Jerusalem  very  poor  Jews  were  numerous, 
and  many  of  them  had  become  Christian.  Hence  from 
the  beginning  the  Church  had  to  contend  against  a  chronic 
state  of  want  among  its  adherents.  Probably  we  are  apt 
to  find  a  more  communistic  sense  than  Luke  intended  in 
II  44,  IV  32  ;  for  II  4,  IV  35  indicate  judicious  charity,  and 
even  the  action  of  Barnabas  in  IV  37  looks  more  like 
charity  than  communism  :  ^  he  and  others  sold  their  posses- 
sions and  gave  the  money  in  trust  to  the  Apostles  for  the 
good  of  the  Church.  In  later  years,  as  the  Church  spread, 
the  pressure  of  need  in  Jerusalem  acted  as  a  bond  to  unite 
the  scattered  congregations  in  active  ministration  (pp.  49  f., 
288) ;  and  at  the  beginning  it  stimulated  the  primitive 
Church  to  originate  a  better  organisation. 

The  difficulties  in  which  the  Church  was  placed,  which 
would  have  killed  a  weakly  life,  only  stimulated  its  vigour 
and  its  creative  energy.  This  creative  vitality  is  to  the 
historian  the  most  interesting  side  of  the  early  Church ; 
it  was  free  from  dead  conservatism  ;  it  combined  the  most 
perfect  reverence  for  its  earliest  form  with  the  most  perfect 
freedom  to  adapt  that  form  to  new  exigencies ;  it  did  not 
stifle  growth  on  the  plea  that  it  must  remain  exactly  as 
it  was.  It  was  growing  so  rapidly  that  it  burst  through 
its  earliest  forms,  before  they  could  acquire  any  binding 
force,  or  fix  themselves  in  the  prejudices  of  its  members. 
This  free  untrammelled  expansion  was  the  law  of  its  life, 
and  the  Divine  reality  of  its  being.  In  later  times,  on  the 
contrary,  many  of  its  adherents  have  maintained  that  its 

1  The  story  of  Ananias  points  more  to  communism.  Yet  even 
here  Peter's  speech  regards  the  act  of  Ananias  as  a  purely  volun- 
tary one,  though  V  2  seems  to  represent  it  almost  as  a  duty. 


374  Chronology  of  Early  Church  History.  Chap.  XVI. 

Divine  life  lies  in  its  preserving  unchanged  from  the 
beginning  the  form  that  was  prescribed  for  it.  Thus  the 
view  taken  in  Acts  is  that  the  Church's  Divine  character 
lies  in  the  free  unceasing  growth  of  its  form  and  institu- 
tions ;  but  the  common  view  of  later  times  has  been  that 
its  Divine  character  lies  in  the  permanence  and  unchange- 
ability  of  its  form  from  the  beginning  onwards. 

At  first  Luke  represents  the  superintendence  and  dis- 
tribution of  these  charities  as  undertaken  solely  by  the 
Apostles,  who  soon  found  that  "  it  was  not  meet  that  they 
should  forsake  preaching  and  perform  the  ministration  at 
tables"  (VI  2).  Moreover,  in  the  pressure  of  claims  and 
accumulation  of  duties,  complaint  was  made  that  the 
widows  among  the  Hellenist  Jews  were  neglected  in  favour 
of  the  native  Hebrews.  It  was  therefore  arranged  that  a 
new  class  of  ofificers  should  be  instituted, — for  whom  no 
name  is  here  given,  but  who  were  the  origin  out  of  which 
the  "  Deacons"  of  the  developed  Church  arose. 

It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that  the  Elders  are  not  men- 
tioned here  ;  and  this  is  one  of  the  points  which  show 
Luke's  want  of  proper  authorities  about  the  primitive 
Church.  When  we  come  to  a  period,  where  his  infor- 
mation was  good,  we  find  the  Elders  prominent,  and 
specially  in  practical  business  matters  (pp.  52,  166,  171)  ; 
and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  characteristic  Jewish 
institution  existed  as  a  matter  of  course  in  the  primitive 
Church.  The  superintendence  of  relief  measures  was  re- 
cognised as  peculiarly  their  province  (XI  30).  It  seems 
clear  that  in  the  memory  of  tradition  the  Apostles  had 
survived  alone  as  being  the  far  more  prominent  figures, 
while  the  first  Elders  had  been  almost  forgotten. 

The  new  officers  are  here  termed  simply  "Seven  Men 


Sec.  3.     Appointinent  of  Stephen  and  the  Seven.     375 

in  charge  of  this  duty"  {i.e.,  septem  viri  mensis  ordinandis). 
It  would  be  easy  to  find  Jewish  analogies  that  would 
explain  the  original  idea  ;  but  it  would  not  be  easy  to 
find  any  Jewish  analogy  to  explain  the  vitality  and 
adaptability  of  the  institution.  We  must  turn  to  Roman 
organising  methods  to  find  anything  that  will  explain  the 
importance  and  lasting  effect  of  this  step.  Roman  ideas 
were  in  the  air ;  and  the  vigorous  life  of  the  Church  was 
shown  in  its  power  of  seizing  and  adapting  to  its  own 
purposes  all  that  was  strong  and  serviceable  in  the  world. 
It  suited  itself  to  its  surroundings,  and  used  the  existing 
political  facts  and  ideas,  "  learning  from  the  surrounding 
world  everything  that  was  valuable  in  it"  (p.  149). 

The  Seven  who  were  appointed  bear  purely  Greek 
names  ;  and  one  was  not  a  Jew,  but  a  proselyte  of 
Antioch.  There  can,  therefore,  be  no  doubt  that  a 
distinct  step  towards  the  Universalised  Church  was  here 
made ;  it  was  already  recognised  that  the  Church  was 
wider  than  the  pure  Jewish  race  ;  and  the  non-Jewish 
element  was  raised  to  official  rank.  Nikolaos  was  a 
proselyte  of  the  higher  and  completer  type  (p.  43)  ; 
and  his  case  was  therefore  quite  different  in  character 
from  that  of  Cornelius  (p.  42  f),  who  was  only  God- 
fearing. In  the  conferring  of  office  on  Nikolaos  a 
distinct  step  was  made ;  but  it  was  quite  in  accordance 
with  the  principle  of  the  extreme  Judaistic  party  in  the 
Church  (p.  157).  The  case  of  Cornelius  was  a  second 
and  more  serious  step. 

The  consequences  of  this  first  step  in  advance 
were  soon  apparent.  The  wider  sympathies  and  wider 
outlook  of  Hellenistic  Jews  quickened  the  life  of  the 
young   community ;    and    Stephen,    especially,   was    con- 


3/6  Chronology  of  Early  Church  History.  Chap.  XVI. 

spicuous  for  the  boldness  with  which  he  advocated  the 
faith  and  opposed  the  narrowness  of  Judaism,  saying,  as 
his  accusers  alleged,  "  that  this  Jesus  of  Nazareth  shall 
destroy  this  place,  and  shall  change  the  customs  which 
Moses  delivered  unto  us ".  Even  though  this  is  a  per- 
version of  Stephen's  meaning,  yet  the  form  implies  that 
Stephen  had  advanced  beyond  the  previous  position  of 
the  Apostles  as  regards  their  relation  to  Judaism. 

The  critical  point  in  chronology  is  to  determine  the  date 
of  Stephen's  accusation  and  martyrdom.  Luke  gives  us 
no  clear  evidence  as  to  the  length  of  the  two  periods  that 
he  describes,  viz.,  (i)  between  Pentecost  and  the  election  of 
the  Seven,  (2)  between  the  election  and  the  death  of 
Stephen.  The  latest  date  which  our  view  leaves  open  is 
A.D.  33,  for  Paul's  conversion  followed  shortly  after 
Stephen's  death,  and  in  the  fourteenth  year  after  his 
conversion  he  visited  Jerusalem  for  the  second  time,  pro- 
bably in  46  (though  45  is  not  absolutely  excluded,  pp.  51, 
68).  Can  we  suppose  that  the  necessity  for  the  admission 
of  the  Hellenistic  Jews  to  official  rank  was  felt  already  in 
A.D.  32,  and  that  Stephen's  brief  career  ended  in  33  ?  The 
space  of  two  years  has  seemed  sufficient  to  many  scholars ; 
some  have  been  content  with  one.  The  difficulties  which 
the  primitive  Church  had  to  meet  by  appointing  the  Seven 
faced  it  from  the  first ;  and  that  step  was  probably  forced 
on  it  very  soon.  The  wider  spirit  shown  in  the  selection 
of  the  Seven  was  likely  to  cause  an  early  collision  with 
Jewish  jealousy;  and  the  party  which  had  cut  off  Jesus 
was  not  likely  to  suffer  His  followers  to  increase  so  rapidly 
without  an  effort  to  stop  the  movement.  Now  the  perse- 
cution that  caused  and  followed  Stephen's  death  was  the 
first  attempt  at  coercion  ;  the  actions  described  in  IV  5  f. 


Sec.  3.  Appointvient  of  Stephc7t  and  the  Seven.    T^yj 


and  V  17  f.  were  mere  warnings  and  threats,  which  natu- 
rally resulted  soon  in  active  measures.  We  cannot  easily 
believe  that  repressive  measures  were  delayed  more  than 
two  or  three  years  at  the  utmost ;  we  should  rather  have 
expected  them  even  sooner. 

It  is  therefore  quite  fair  to  date  Stephen's  death  about 
two  and  a  half  or  three  years  after  the  great  Pentecost. 

4.  PHILIP  THE  EVANGELIST  AND  PETER. 
After  the  death  of  Stephen,  the  history  widens,  and 
several  threads  appear  in  it.  The  foundation  of  a  series 
of  Churches  over  Judsea  and  Samaria  is  first  described  ; 
and  the  author's  attention  is  directed  chiefly  on  three 
steps  in  the  progress  towards  the  Universalised  Church, 
the  foundation  of  an  extra-Judaean  Church  in  the  city  of 
Samaria,  and  the  admission  of  an  Ethiopian^  and  of  a  Roman 
centurion  as  Christians.  These  steps  are  connected  with 
the  names  of  Philip  and  Peter.  The  institution  of  a  series 
of  Churches  in  Palestine,  a  process  which  must  have  occu- 
pied a  long  time,  is  briefly  but  clearly  indicated  in  VIII 
40,  IX  31-35,  42  f  ;  but  Luke's  personal  interest  in  the 
expansion  of  a  still  purely  Judaic  Church  was  not  great. 
Yet  the  episodes  of  vEneas  and  Dorcas,  IX  33-42,  show 
that,  though  the  details  seemed  to  Luke  not  required 
for  his  purpose,  the  spread  of  the  Church  over  Palestine 
was  conceived  by  him  as  an  important  step  in  history. 
These  episodes  are  introduced,  because  they  proved  that 
the  Divine  power  worked  in  the  process  whereby  the 
Church  of  Jerusalem  expanded  into  the  Church  of  all 
Palestine.  In  the  utter  absence  of  statement  as  to 
Luke's  authority  for  the  two  episodes,  they  cannot  be 
placed  by  the  historian  on  a  higher  level  than  general 
^  He  was  evidently  a  proselyte  (VIII  27),  like  Nikolaos. 


378  Chronology  of  Early  Church  History.  Chap.  XVI. 

belief.  It  is  remarkable  that  we  have  no  knowledge 
whether  Luke  ever  met  Peter.  The  want  of  any  reference 
to  Peter  in  XXI  18  must,  in  our  view,  be  taken  as  a 
proof  that  he  was  not  in  Jerusalem  at  the  time. 

In  the  midst  of  the  narrative  describing  this  expansion 
is  interposed  an  account  of  Saul's  life  during  the  three 
years  33-S;^  and  this  arrangement  is  obviously  intended 
to  bring  out  the  long  period  over  which  that  process  of 
expansion  was  spread.  According  to  our  theory  it  con- 
tinued from  A.D.  33  until  it  was  checked  to  some  extent  by 
the  development  of  the  Pauline  idea  and  the  jealousy 
roused  thereby  among  almost  all  Jews  except  the  great 
and  leading  minds,  which  were  able  to  rise  more  or  less 
completely  above  it.  Then  came  the  supreme  catastrophe 
of  the  great  war,  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  and  the 
suppression  of  "  the  Nation  "  of  the  Jews. 

The  expansion  of  the  Church  beyond  Palestine  is  first 
alluded  to  in  XI  19,  where  the  dispersion  of  missionaries 
over  Phcenice,  Cyprus,  and  Syria  is  mentioned  (Ch.  Ill, 
§  i).  It  is  remarkable  that  Luke  never  alludes  to  the 
developmeut  of  the  Church  towards  the  south  or  east. 
Yet  the  dispersion  that  followed  Stephen's  death  must 
have  radiated  in  all  directions;  and  II  7-11,  and  VIII 
27  f ,  lead  naturally  to  some  general  spread  of  the  new 
teaching  in  all  directions.  It  is  obvious  that  Luke  has 
not  made  it  his  object  to  write  the  history  of  the  whole 
expansion  of  the  Church  ;  but  selected  the  facts  that 
bore  on  a  narrower  theme,  viz.,  the  steps  by  which  the 
Church  of  Jerusalem  grew  into  the  Church  of  the  Empire, 

^We  shall  speak  of  33  as  the  date  of  Stephen's  death  and  Paul's 
conversion,  acknowledging,  however,  that  perhaps  32  is  the  proper 

yfar. 


Sec.  4.       Philip  the  Evangelist  and  Peter.  379 

and  the  position  of  the  Church  in  the  Empire.  Egypti 
Ethiopia,  and  the  East  and  South  are  therefore  excluded 
from  his  narrative. 

5.  PAUL  IN  JUD/EA  AND  ARABIA.  The  introduc- 
tion of  Paul  is  connected  with  the  death  of  Stephen :  he 
was  then  a  young  man,  and  probably  was  entering  for  the 
first  time  on  public  life.  At  this  point  the  subjective 
touch  in  VIII  i,  "Saul  was  consenting  unto  his  death,"  is 
a  clear  indication  that  Luke's  authority  was  Paul  himself. 
The  phrase  is  a  confession  of  inward  feeling,  not  a 
historian's  account  of  action  ;  and  the  words  are  Paul's 
own  (XXII  20).  A  dramatic  touch  like  this  is,  on  our 
theory,  deliberately  calculated.  Luke  intends  to  set  before 
his  readers  the  scene  at  Caesareia,  where  Philip  narrated 
the  story  of  Stephen  and  of  his  own  early  work,  and  Paul 
interposed  the  agonised  confession  of  VIII  i.  The 
narrative  from  VI  9  to  VIII  39  probably  reproduces 
Philip's  words  very  closely ;  while  Luke  has  inserted 
touches,  as  VII  58,  VIII  i,  and  adapted  the  whole  to  his 
plan.^ 

The  slight  variations  in  the  three  accounts  of  Paul's 
conversion  do  not  seem  to  be  of  any  consequence.  Luke 
did  not  seek  to  modify  Paul's  speeches  in  order  to  produce 
verbal  conformity  with  the  account  which  seemed  to  him 
to  represent  the  facts  fairly ;  but  the  spirit  and  tone  and 
the  essential  facts  are  the  same,  IX  3-18,  XXII  6-16, 
XXVI  12-18. 

Two  difficulties,  however,  deserve  notice  in  the  account 
of  Paul's  conduct  during  the  first  years  after  his  conver- 

^  The  enumeration  of  synagogues  in  VI  9,  which  does  not  agree 
with  Luke's  manner,  was  perhaps  noted  down  verbatim  {Exposiior, 
July  1895,  p.  35). 


380  Chronology  of  Early  Church  History.  Chap.  XVI. 

sion.  In  the  first  place,  why  does  Luke  say  nothing  about 
Paul's  journey  into  Arabia  ?  But  we  have  no  authority 
for  believing  that  the  journey  was  of  such  importance  as 
to  require  a  place  in  this  history,  for  Luke  does  not 
enumerate  all  the  influences  that  moulded  Paul's  develop- 
ment. Paul's  reference  to  the  incident  {Gal.  I  17)  is 
clear  and  complete  in  itself,  if  it  was  not  a  serious  journey, 
but  a  small  episode  in  his  private  life.  "  When  it  pleased 
God  to  call  me  to  the  work  of  my  life,  so  far  was  I  from 
needing  counsel  or  instruction  from  Jerusalem,  that  I 
retired  into  Arabia,  and  came  back  again  to  Damascus." 
Damascus  was  at  the  time  subject  to  the  King  of  Arabia 
Petraea  ;  and  the  natural  interpretation  is  that  a  person 
describing  incidents  of  his  experience  in  Damascus  means 
by  Arabia  the  adjacent  country  on  the  east.  Had  this 
excursion  been  an  important  step  in  the  development  of 
Paul's  thought  (as  Lightfoot  inclines  to  think,  when  he 
sees  in  it  a  sojourn  on  Mount  Sinai  after  the  style  of 
Moses),  Luke  might  be  expected  to  mention  it  and  show 
how  much  underlies  Paul's  words  ;  but,  as  he  does  not 
mention  it,  the  fair  inference  is  that  there  was  no  more  in 
it  than  Paul  says  explicitly. 

Moreover,  Luke  divides  Paul's  stay  in  Damascus  into 
two  periods,  a  few  days'  residence  with  the  disciples 
IX  19,  and  a  long  period  of  preaching  20-23.  The  quiet 
residence  in  the  country  for  a  time,  recovering  from  the 
serious  and  prostrating  effect  of  his  conversion  (for  a 
man's  life  is  not  suddenly  reversed  without  serious  claim 
on  his  physical  power),  is  the  dividing  fact  between  the 
two  periods.  The  division  is  certainly  very  awkwardly  and 
insufficiently  indicated  ;  but  Luke  everywhere  shows  similar 
weakness  in  indicating  the  temporal  relations  of  events. 


Sec.  s-  Panl  in  Jtidcea  and  Arabia.  381 

In  the  second  place,  the  accounts  of  Paul's  first  visit 
to  Jerusalem,  in  the  third  year  after  his  conversion,  are 
obscure      In   Gal  I    i8f.  Paul  says  he  went  up   to   see 
Peter  (evidently  regarding  him  as  the   leading  spirit   in 
the    development    of    the    Church),    and    saw    no    other 
Apostle,  except  James  the  Lord's  brother.     But  in  Acts 
IX  28  f    "he  was  with  the  Apostles  going  in  and  going 
out  at  Jerusalem,   preaching  boldly  in   the  name  of  the 
Lord      And  he  spake  and  disputed  against  the  Grecian 
Tews-    but  they  went  about   to   kill  him."     In  weighing 
this   Iccount   we   must   bear   in   mind    Luke's   intention: 
he   conceived  the  Apostles  as  the   permanent  governing 
body    in   Jerusalem    (p.    53).    and    they    dwarfed    in    his 
estimation  any  other  administrative  body  in  the  primitive 
Church   (p.   374).     Here,  therefore,  he  speaks  loose  y   of 
"the    Apostles,"    meaning    the    governing    body    of    the 
Church,  without  implying  that  they  were  all  present  in 
Jerusalem.     It  was  one  of  his   objects  to   insist   on   the 
agreement  between  Paul  and  the  leaders  of  the  Church; 
and  he  distinctly  had,  and  communicates,  the  impression 
that   the   opposition   of   the    extreme   Judaistic  party   to 
Paul  was  factious,  and   was  condemned  by   the    leaders. 
It  therefore  seemed  important  to  him   to  emphasise  the 
harmony   between    Paul   and    the   Jewish  leaders  at  this 
first  visit;  and,  though  most  of  the  Apostles  were  absent, 
yet  the   two  real    leaders   were   present.      We   certainly 
should   not   naturally   infer   from  Luke's   words  that  the 
visit  lasted  only  fifteen  days;  but  there  is  no  real  ciiffi- 
culty   in    supposing  that   Paul's  life  was  at  this  time  in 
danger  from  the  first.     He  had  deserted  his  former  friends, 
and  they  would  feel  towards  him  the  hatred  that  always 
pursues  a  deserter. 


382  Chronology  of  Early  Church  History.  Chap.  XVI. 

On  the  other  hand,  XXVI  20  is  distinctly  in  contra- 
diction with  all  other  authorities ;  but,  as  Dr.  Blass  points 
out,  the  Greek  is  solecistic,  and  his  altered  reading,  "in 
every  land  to  both  Jews  and  Gentiles,"  seems  to  me  to 
carry  conviction  with  it.^ 

The  difficulty  with  regard  to  the  interval  between 
Paul's  first  and  second  visit  to  Jerusalem  (which  we 
consider  to  have  been  only  eleven  years,  whereas  many 
take  it  as  fourteen,  Gal.  II  i)  disappears  when  we  take 
the  Greek  in  its  real  sense.  Paul  says  to  the  Galatians, 
"  Then,  in  the  third  year,^  I  went  up  to  Jerusalem  .  .  . 
then,  when  the  fourteenth  year  was  ending".  The  two 
reckonings  go  together,  and  are  estimated  from  the  same 
starting-point. 

^  iraadv  re  rfjv  xmpav  rrjs  'lovbaias  is  not  Lukan,  and  hardly  Greek: 
read  els  Trauav  xapav    lovdaiois  re. 

*  "  After  three  years  "  misrepresents  the  meaning 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

COMPOSITION   AND    DATE   OF  ACTS. 
I.  HYPOTHESIS     OF     "THE     TRAVEL-DOCUMENT". 

We  have  seen  that  Luke  represents  himself  as  having 
been  an  eye-witness  of  some  of  the  incidents  which  he 
describes ;  and  we  have  inferred,  from  the  pointed  way 
in  which  he  does  this,  that  he  was  not  an  eye-witness 
of  the  rest.  In  the  parts  where  he  had  no  personal 
knowledge  his  trustworthiness  depends  on  his  authority 
in  each  case.  In  a  former  work  I  have  tried  to  show 
that  there  lies  behind  the  narrative  of  Paul's  journeys  a 
document  originating  "  from  a  person  acquainted  with 
the  actual  circumstances,"  and  therefore  "  composed  under 
St.  Paul's  own  influence".  I  was  careful  "to  express 
his  influence  in  the  most  general  terms,  and  to  avoid 
any  theorising  about  the  way  in  which  it  was  exercised  "  ; 
and  I  purposely  left  the  question  untouched  -whether  the 
"Travel-Document"  was  composed  by  the  author  of 
Acis  or  by  a  different  person  ;  for  my  object  then  was 
to  show  that  the  document  was  a  trustworthy  record  of 
facts,  to  avoid  constructing  a  system,  to  investigate  each 
fact  independently  on  its  own  evidence,  and  to  give  no 
opening  to  the  criticism  that  I  was  twisting  the  evidence 
at    any   point    in    order    to    suit    an    idea    derived   from 

elsewhere, 

(383) 


384      Composition  and  Date  of  Acts.      Chap,  XVII. 

In  the  present  work  the  reasons  on  which  the 
supposition  of  a  "  Travel-Document "  was  founded  are 
much  strengthened ;  and  we  must  now  put  the  question 
in  a  more  precise  form.  What  is  the  relation  between 
the  "  Travel-Document "  and  the  completed  text  of 
Acts  ?  To  this  the  answer  must  be  that  the  "  Travel- 
Document  "  was  Luke's  own  written  notes  (supplemented 
by  memory,  and  the  education  of  further  experience 
and  reading  and  research).  His  diary,  where  he  was 
an  eye-witness,  and  his  notes  of  conversation  with  Paul, 
and  doubtless  others  also,  were  worked  into  the  book 
of  Acts  suitably  to  the  carefully  arranged  plan  on  which 
it  is  constructed.  We  have  found  traces  of  deep  and 
strong  emotion  which  must  be  understood  as  Paul's  own 
feeling :  the  technical  term  for  making  a  missionary 
progress  through  a  district^  is  used  only  by  Paul  (I 
Cor.  XVI  5)  and  by  Luke  in  describing  Paul's  work;^ 
while  in  describing  the  precisely  similar  work  of  other 
missionaries,  he  uses  a  different  and  a  more  usual  Greek 
construction.^  This  line  of  investigation  might  be  carried 
much  further  so  as  to  show  that  Luke  everywhere  follows 
with  minute  care  the  best  authority  accessible  to  him  ; 
and  in  Acts  especially  Paul  and  Philip.  As  we  have 
seen,  Ch.  XVI,  §  2,  the  period  in  which  he  found  greatest 
difficulty  was  that  which  intervened  between  the  con- 
clusion of  his  formal  historical  authorities  for  the  life  of 
the  Saviour,  and  the  beginning  of  the  careful  narratives 
which  he  had  noted  down  from  Paul  and  Philip  about 
their  own  personal  experiences. 

^  Itinerating  is  the  modern  equivalent,  I  am  told. 
2  XIII   6,   XIV  24,   XV  3,   41,   XVI   6,   XVIII   23,   XIX   i,  21, 
XX  2.  8  VIII  4,  40,  XI  19,  IX  32,  Luk&  IX  6. 


Sec.  I.   Hypothesis  of  "  The  Travel- Docu7nent''\   385 

One  episode,  which  bears  all  the  marks  of  vivid  personal 
witness,  comes  under  neither  of  these  categories,  viz.^  the 
story  of  Peter's  imprisonment  and  escape,  XII.  Here 
some  other  authority  was  used  ;  and  the  narrative  suggests 
distinctly  that  the  authority  was  not  Peter  himself,  but 
one  of  those  in  the  house  of  Mary.  John  Mark,  who 
is  pointedly  mentioned  as  being  in  Jerusalem,  XII  25, 
and  who  was  afterwards  with  Luke  and  Paul  in  Rome, 
was  almost  certainly  ({o.  12)  the  ultimate  authority  here. 

Luke  added  to  these  authorities  an  obvious  acquaintance 
with  Paul's  own  letters.  He  rarely  states  anything  that  is 
recorded  in  them  ;  he  assumes  them  as  known  ;  and  he 
makes  it  one  of  his  objects  to  set  them  in  a  clearer  light. 

The  whole  of  his  materials  he  used  with  the  true 
historical  sense  for  the  comparative  importance  of  events 
and  for  the  critical  steps  in  a  great  movement,  and  also 
with  a  wide  and  careful  study  of  the  general  history 
of  the  contemporary  world  {i.e.,  the  Roman  Empire). 
The  research  which  Luke  applied  in  the  execution  of  his 
work  is  shown  with  especial  clearness  in  the  chronological 
calculations  which  he  introduced  in  Book  I  (similar  to 
those  which  he  would  probably  have  added  in  Book  II, 
see  p.  23).  These  calculations  deserve  fresh  study  with  a 
view  to  estimate  the  work  which  the  author  has  cpmpressed 
into  them.  The  accuracy  of  one  of  them  {viz.,  the  state- 
ment about  Philip  in  Luke  III  i)  I  have  defended 
elsewhere,  and,  as  I  believe,  on  grounds  which  would  carry 
conviction  to  every  one,  were  it  not  that  they  are  incon- 
sistent with  the  dominant  North-Galatian  theory.  Again 
the  census  {Luke  II  i)  under  Ouirinius  is  pointedly 
called  the  first,  implying  that  it  was  the  first  of  a  series 
of  census.      A   census   is  known   to  have  been  made   in 

25 


386       Composition  and  Date  of  Acts.       Chap.  XVII. 

Syria  by  Quirinius  in  his  second  government,  about  6  A.D., 
which  suggests  that  they  were  perhaps  decennial.  We 
have  no  other  evidence  as  to  a  census  in  5-4  B.C. ;  but 
when  we  consider  how  purely  accidental  is  the  evidence  ^ 
for  the  second  census,  the  want  of  evidence  for  the  first 
seems  to  constitute  no  argument  against  the  trustworthi- 
ness of  Luke's  statement.  It  is  certain  that  the  dependent 
kingdoms  paid  tribute  to  Rome  exactly  as  if  they  had  been 
part  of  the  Empire  ;  and  it  is  in  perfect  accord  with  the 
methodical  character  of  Augustus's  administration  that  he 
should  order  such  census  to  be  made  regularly  throughout 
"  the  whole  world ".  Incidentally  we  observe  in  this 
phrase  that  Luke's  view  is  absolutely  confined  to  the 
Roman  Empire,  which  to  him  is  "  the  world ".  Luke 
investigated  the  history  of  this  series  of  census. 

2.  DATE  OF  THE  COMPOSITION  OF  ACTS.  The 
elaborate  series  of  synchronisms  by  which  Luke  dates  the 
coming  of  John  the  Baptist  are  especially  remarkable ;  and 
it  is  to  them  we  turn  for  evidence  as  to  the  date  of  com- 
position. On  our  view  the  Crucifixion  took  place  at  the 
Passover  of  A.D.  30,  the  fourth  Passover  in  the  public 
career  of  Jesus.  Now  John  was  six  months  older  than 
Jesus  ;  and  his  career  began  in  his  thirtieth  year,  a  little 
before  the  coming  of  Jesus.  Thus  we  reach  the  conclusion 
that  the  synchronisms  of  Luke  III  i,  2,  are  calculated  for 
the  summer  (say  July)  of  A.D.  26  ;  and  he  calls  this  year 
the  fifteenth  of  the  reign  of  Tiberius,  implying   that  he 

^  An  inscription  found  in  Venice  is  the  sole  authority.  As  the 
stone  was  lost,  the  inscription  was  pronounced  a  forgery,  apparently 
for  no  reason  except  that  it  mentioned  Quirinius's  census.  Even 
Mommsen  refused  to  admit  it  as  genuine,  until,  fortunately,  part  of 
the  stone  was  rediscovered. 


Sec.  2.       Date  of  the  Composition  of  Acts.  387 

reckoned  his  reign  to  begin  A.D.  12,  when  Tiberius  was 
associated  by  Augustus  in  the  Empire.  But  such  a 
method  of  reckoning  the  reign  of  Tiberius  was  unknown. 
According  to  Roman  reckoning,  Tiberius,  in  July  A.D.  26, 
was  either  in  his  twelfth  year  (reckoning  from  the  death  of 
his  predecessor)  or  in  his  twenty-eighth  year  (reckoning 
his  tenure  of  the  tribunician  power).  No  other  way  of 
reckoning  his  reign  was  ever  employed  by  Romans.  How 
then  could  Luke  speak  of  his  fifteenth  year  ?  There  can 
hardly  be  any  other  reason  than  that  the  calculation  was 
made  under  an  Emperor  whose  years  were  reckoned  from 
his  association  as  colleague ;  so  that  Luke,  being  familiar 
with  that  method,  applied  it  to  the  case  of  Tiberius.  Now 
that  was  the  case  with  Titus.  His  reign  began  from  his 
association  with  his  father  on  ist  July  A.D,  71. 

We  thus  get  a  clue,  though  in  itself  an  uncertain  one, 
to  suggest  the  date  when  Luke  was  at  work.  His 
chronological  calculations  were  probably  inserted  as  the 
finishing  touches  of  Book  I  (p.  23),  while  Titus  was 
reigning  as  sole  Emperor,  79-81  A.D.  ;  and  the  com- 
position of  that  book  belongs  to  the  years  immediately 
preceding,  while  the  composition  of  Book  H  belongs  to 
the  years  immediately  following.  This  argument,  taken 
by  itself,  would  be  insufficient  ;  but  it  is  confirmed  by 
the  impression  which  the  book  as  a  whole  makes.  Acts 
could  not  have  been  written  so  late  as  Trajan,  when 
long  persecution  had  altered  the  tone  and  feeling  of  the 
Church  towards  the  State.  It  is  th<j  work  of  a  man 
whose  mind  has  been  moulded  in  a  more  peaceful  time, 
and  who  has  not  passed  through  a  time  like  the  reign 
of  Domitian  (p.  22).  On  the  other  hand,  its  tone  is  not 
that  of  assured  conviction  about  the  relation  to  the  State, 


3S8      Composition  and  Date  of  Acts.      Chap.  XVII. 

such  as  we  observe  in  Paul's  Epistles.  It  is  the  tone  of 
one  who  seeks  to  prove  a  position  that  is  doubtful  and 
assailed,  but  still  of  one  who  believes  that  it  may  be 
proved.  As  we  have  seen,  there  runs  through  the  entire 
work  a  purpose  which  could  hardly  have  been  conceived 
before  the  State  had  begun  to  persecute  on  political 
grounds.  So  long  as  Christians  were  proceeded  against 
merely  on  the  ground  of  crimes,  which  the  accuser  sought 
to  prove  by  evidence  (as  was  the  case  with  Paul,  p.  360), 
there  was  no  necessity  to  establish  that  Christianity  was 
legal.  Defence  then  consisted  in  disproving  the  specific 
crimes  charged  against  the  individual  Christian ;  but, 
after  the  Flavian  policy  had  declared  Christianity  illegal 
and  proscribed  the  Name,  the  first  necessity  for  defence 
was  to  claim  legal  right. 

3.  THEOPHILUS.  It  has  an  important  bearing  on 
Luke's  attitude  towards  the  Roman  State  that  his  work 
is  addressed  to  a  Roman  officer,^  who  had  become  a 
Christian.  We  may  safely  say  that  in  the  first  century  a 
Roman  official  would  hardly  bear  the  name  Theophilus  ;  and 
therefore  it  must  be  a  name  given  to  him  at  baptism,  and 
used  or  known  only  among  the  Christians.  The  fact  that 
his  public  name  is  avoided,  and  only  the  baptismal  name 
used,  favours  the  supposition  (though  not  absolutely 
demanding  it)  that  it  was  dangerous  for  a  Roman  of  rank 
to  be  recognised  as  a  Christian.  In  the  narrative  of  Acts 
there  is  not  the  slightest   trace   of  private   or   baptismal 

^  The  epithet  KpanaTo^  is  technical  and  distinctive,  and  not  a  mere 
usitata  appellatio  homimim  dignitate  prcBstantium,  as  even  Blass  tai<es 
it,  on  Acts  XXIII  26.  Luke  uses  it  strictly  there  and  in  XXIV  3, 
XXVI  25,  implying  equestrian  rank.  Some  Greeks  were  not  so 
accurate  as  Luke, 


Sec.  3.  Tkeophihis.  389 

names.  These  seem  to  have  been  adopted  under  the 
pressure  of  necessity  and  from  the  desire  for  concealment. 
Thus  the  very  dedication  of  the  work  points  to  a  developed 
state  of  the  relations  between  Church  and  State,  and 
carries  us  down  to  the  time  of  Domitian. 

4.  THE    FAMILY    OF    LUKE.     We   have  made   it   an 
object  to  collect  the  scanty  traces  of  Luke's  personality 
that  remain  in  Acts ;  and  we  may  therefore  conclude  our 
task   by  referring   to   the  tradition  about  his   birthplace. 
The  later  tradition,  as  it  appears  in  Jerome,  Euthalius,  etc., 
declares  that  Luke  was  an  Antiochian,^  but  it  is  practically 
certain  that  the  authority  for  all  the  later  statements  is 
Eusebius.     Eusebius,  however,  does  not  say  that  Luke  was 
an    Antiochian  ;    he    merely   speaks    of   him    as   "  bein"- 
according  to  birth  of  those  from  Antioch  ".^     This  curioii 
and  awkward  expression  is  obviously  chosen  in  order  to 
avoid  the  statement  that  Luke  was  an  Antiochian  ;  and  it 
amounts  to  an  assertion  that  Luke  was  not  an  Antiochian, 
but   belonged   to   a   family    that   had   a   connection  with 
Antioch.       Eusebius    therefore    had    access    to     a    more 
detailed  and  distinct  tradition,  which  he  reproduces  in  this 
brief  form.      The  older  tradition  must  have  told  that  Luke 
had  a  family  connection  with  Antioch  ;  and  Eusebius  care- 
fully restricts  himself  to  that  statement  ;  but  -the  tradition 
probably  set  forth  the  exact  connection,  and  it  is  perhaps 
allowable  to  conclude  our  study  with  a  conjecture. 

Antioch,  as  a  Seleucid  foundation,  had  almost  certainly 
a  Macedonian  element  in  its  population.  It  is  now  well- 
established    that   the    military    strength   of    the    Seleucid 

1  *Ai/Tto;(feij  yap  ovros  vnapxcav  to  yivos,  Euthalius  in   Migne,  Patr. 
Gr.  vol.  85,  p.  633.    Lucas  medicus  Antiochcnsis,  Jerome,  Vir.  I'd. 
^  AovKa^  8e  to  fieu  yevos  S)v  Tcav  an  ^AvTto\eias,  Hist.  Eccles.  Ill  4. 


390      Composition  and  Date  of  Acts.      Chap.  XVII. 

colonies  lay  usually  in  a  contingent  of  Macedonians  ; 
and  a  considerable  number  of  Seleucid  cities  style  them- 
selves Macedones  on  coins  or  inscriptions.  It  is  quite 
probable  that  intercourse  and  connection  may  have  been 
maintained  between  the  Macedonian  element  in  Antioch 
and  their  original  home  ;  and  migrations  to  and  fro  are 
likely  to  have  occurred  between  Macedonia  and  Antioch 
in  the  constant  and  easy  intercourse  of  the  centuries 
following  the  foundation.  Thus  it  may  very  well  have 
happened  that  Luke  was  a  relative  of  one  of  the  early 
Antiochian  Christians  ;  and  this  relationship  was  per- 
haps the  authority  for  Eusebius's  carefully  guarded 
statement.  Further,  it  is  possible  that  this  relationship 
gives  the  explanation  of  the  omission  of  Titus  from  Acts, 
an  omission  which  every  one  finds  it  so  difficult^  to  under- 
stand. Perhaps  Titus  was  the  relative  of  Luke ;  and 
Eusebius  found  this  statement  in  an  old  tradition, 
attached  to  II  Cor.  VIII  i8,  XII  i8,  where  Titus  and 
Luke  (the  latter  not  named  by  Paul,  but  identified  by 
an  early  tradition)  are  associated  as  envoys  to  Corinth. 
Luke,  as  we  may  suppose,  thought  it  right  to  omit  his 
relative's  name,  as  he  did  his  own  name,  from  his  history. 
There  is  not  sufficient  evidence  to  justify  an  opinion  ;  but 
this  conjecture  brings  together  an  enigmatic  expression 
in  Eusebius  and  a  serious  difficulty  in  Acts,  and  finds 
in  each  a  satisfactory  solution  of  the  other. 

^  We  cannot  agree  with  Lightfoot,  who  solves  the  difficulty  by 
denying  that  Titus  was  important  enough  to  deserve  mention  in 
Acts  (Biblical  Essays,  p.  281). 


INDEX. 


PASSAGES  QUOTED  FROM  THE  NEW  TESTAMENT. 


Matthew. 
XX  25  f.,  p,  85 
XXVn  5-8,  p.  367  f. 

Mark. 
XVI  9-30,  p.  25 

Luke. 
1 1,  p.  376 

II  I,  p.  385 

—  2,  p.  28 

III  I,  pp.  23,  211 

—  18,  pp.  366  n.,  385,  387. 

—  2,  p.  387 
IX  6,  p.  384  n. 
XI  26,  p.  28 

XIII  30,  p.  28 

XIV  18,  p.  28 
XVI  5,  p.  28 

XIX  16,  p.  28 

XX  29,  p.  28 

XXII  56,  p.  39,  p.  366  n. 

XXIII  2,  p.  307 

—  4.  P-  307 

—  14,  P- 307 

—  22,  p.  307 

John. 
XVIII  30,  p.  307  n. 

—  38,  p.  307  n. 

Acts. 
I  p.  363 
I-V,  pp.  367.  372,  376,  377 

I  I,  p.  309 

—  10,  p.  38  f. 

—  15,  p.  223 

—  17.  P-  51 

—  21,  p.  180 

—  25>  P-  51 

II  p.  364,  see  I 


II  7-11,  p.  378 

—  43.  P-  365 

—  43-V  41,  p.  366 

III  i-IV  31,  p.  365,  see  I 

—  4>  P-  38 

—  12,  p.  38 

IV  5  f.,  p.  376,  see  I 

—  7.  P-  245 

—  13  f.,  pp.  365,  366,  370. 

—  36,  p.  71 

V  I,  p.  202,  see  I 

—  17  f-.  P-  376 

—  36,  p.  212 

VI  I,  p.  51 

—  1-6,  p.  12 

—  2,  p.  373 

—  2-4,  p.  52 

—  3,  p.  180 

—  4.  P-5I 

—  5.  p.  65 

—  9,  p.  212 

—  9-VIII  39,  p.  379 

—  II,  p.  212 

—  13,  p.  212 

—  15.  P-  38 

VII  12,  p.  27 

—  55-P-38 

—  60,  p.  41 

VIII  I,  pp.  53,  127 

—  1-4.  P- 41 

—  4.  P-  384  n. 

—  10,  p.  212 

—  14.  P-  41 

—  18,  p.  212 

—  25.  P-4I 

—  27,  pp.  377  n.,  378 

—  40,  pp.  377,  384  n. 

IX  3-18,  p.  379 

^   10,  p.  2C2 

(391) 


IX  II,  p.  31 

—  19,  p.  174 

—  19-23,  p.  380 

—  20,  p.  72 

—  23,  p.  174 

—  24,  p.  119 

—  27,  pp.  46,  245 

—  28  f.,  pp.  62  f.,  155,  381 

—  30,  pp.  46,  47 

—  31,  pp.41,  127  f. 

—  31-35.  P-  377 

—  32,  pp.  41,  384  n. 

—  32  f.,  p.  42 

—  33,  p.  202 

—  33-42,  p.  377 

—  35.  P-  41 

—  36,  p.  202 

—  42,  p.  41 

—  42  f-.  P-  377 

X  p.  41 

—  I,  p.  202 

—  2,  p.  180 

—  4.  p.  39 

—  17.  P-II9 

—  22,  p.  180 

—  35.  PP-  42-3 

—  41,  p.  121 

—  44.  P-  41 

XI  1-18,  pp.  41,  168 

—  2,  p.  168 

—  6,  p.  38 

—  19.  PP-  72,  378,  384  a. 

—  19-21,  p.  40  ff. 

—  20,  pp.  24,  71 

—  22,  p.  127 

—  22-26,  p.  44  ff. 

—  23,  p.  86 

—  24,  p.  174 

—  27,  p.  3P? 


392 


Index. 


XI 27-30,  p.  48  rr.  I 

—  28,  pp.  23,  27,  aio  ' 

—  28-30,  p.  186 

—  29-30,  pp.  59-  269 

—  30,  pp.  166,  374 

XII  p.  383 

—  10,  p.  28 

—  12,  P-  385 

—  13,  p.  119 

—  14.  P-  "9 

—  17,  PP-  38,  53 

—  25,  pp.  24,  48  ff..  59,  64, 
71,  166,  170  n.,  175, 177  n., 
186,  269,  385 

XIII  p.  238 

—  i,pp.54,T2i,  127, 174,209 

—  1-3,  p.  64  ff. 

—  l-ii,  p.  198 

—  2-3,  p.  291 

—  3,  pp.  122,  155 

—  4,  pp.  67,  264 

—  4-6,  p.  70  ff. 

—  5.  P-  175 

—  6,  pp.  90.  115.  384  n. 

—  6-12,  p.  73  ff- 

—  7-8,  p.  204 

—  9,  pp.  38,  204 

—  12,  p.  116 

—  13.  p.  175 

—  13-14,  p.  89  ff. 

—  13-16,  p.  98  ff. 

—  14,  p.  no 

—  16,  p.  37 

—  27,  p.  lOI 

—  31.  p-  301 

—  38,  p.  148 

—  38-40,  p.  101  f. 

—  40-41,  p.  148 

—  41,  p.  65 

—  42-32.  p-  98  ff- 

—  43-44,  P-  144 

—  45,  P- 143 

—  46,  pp.  13,  72 

—  49,  pp.  104,  105 
XIV  I,  p.  143 

—  1-6,  pp.  107  ff.,  257 

—  6-7,  pp.  no  ff.,  128  n. 

—  8,  pp.  120,  128  n. 

—  8-10,  p.  114  ff. 

—  9.  P-38 

—  11-18,  pp.  ii6  ff.,  37 

—  19,  pp.  179,  291 

—  19-21,  p.  119  f. 

—  31-23,  p.  120  ff. 


XIV  22,  pp.  201,  212,  388 

—  23,  p.  127 

—  24,  pp.  181,  384  n. 

—  24-27,  p.  123  f. 

—  25,  pp.  70,  26+ 

—  26,  pp.  65,  67,  206 

—  27,  pp.  46, 62, 64,85, 155 

—  27-28,  p.  152  ff. 

—  pp.  52,  55  ff-.  59.  61  f., 
71,  154,  170,  363 

XV  1-3,  p.  152  ff. 

—  2,  pp.  66,  170 

—  3.  PP-  65.  384  n. 

—  4-13,  p.  166  ff. 

—  7,  p.  162 

—  12,  p.  84 

—  14-21,  p.  168  ff. 

—  22,  p.  177 

—  22-29,  p.  171  ff. 

—  24,  pp.  158,  164 

—  23,  p.  84 

—  28,  p.  158 

—  30-36,  p.  174  f- 

—  36-40,  p.  175  ff. 

—  36,  p.  180 

—  38,  P-63 

—  38-39,  P-  90 

—  40,  p.  175 

—  41,  pp.  127, 128, 173, 174, 
384  n. 

XVI  p.  201 

—  1,  p.  280 

—  1-3,  pp.  Ill,  128,  143 

—  1-6,  p.  178  ff. 

—  4,  PP-  173.  177 

—  5,  P-  127 

—  6,  pp.  104,  384  n. 

—  6-7,  p.  115 

—  6-10,  p.  194  ff. 

—  8,  pp.  235,  264 

—  9  f.,  p.  289 

—  II,  p.  70 

—  11-12,  p.  205 

—  12,  p.  26 

—  13-  P-  "9 

—  13-15,  p.  213  ff. 

—  16-18,  p.  215  ff. 

—  19,  P-  245 

—  19-24,  p.  217  ff. 

—  24,  p.  221 

—  25-34,  p.  219  ff. 

—  28,  p.  37 

—  35-40,  p.  222  ff. 

—  37.  P-  176 


XVII  I,  p.  226 

—  1-4,  p.  226  ff. 

—  2,  p.  177 

—  4,  pp.  235,  264 

—  5-9,  p.  228  ff. 

—  10-15,  P-  231  ff. 

—  12,  pp.  229,  268 

—  14,  P-  70 

—  16-17,  P-  237  ff. 

—  18-22,  p.  241  ff. 

—  19-34,  PP-  244,  247 

—  22-XVIII  I,  pp. 37, 249ft. 

—  23,  pp.  237  ff.,  245 

—  26,  p.  212 

—  31,  P-  148 

—  32,  p.  242 

—  33,  p.  241  ff. 

—  34,  p.  268 

XVIII  I,  pp.  240,    241,    see 
XVII  22 

—  1-5,  p.  253  ff- 

—  2,  pp.  241,  268 

—  5,  PP-  233,  252,  276 

—  6-11,  p.  255  ff. 

—  12-17,  P-  257  ff. 

—  17,  pp.  245,  257 

—  18,  p.  70 

—  18-23,  P-  261  ff. 

—  23,  pp.  104,  112,210,  211, 

212,  384  n. 

—  27,  p.  go 

XIX  p.  377 

—  1,  pp.  141,  261  ff.,  269  ff., 
384  n. 

—  2-7,  p.  270 

—  8-10,  p.  269  ff. 

—  9-10,  p.  275 

—  10,  pp.  104,  273  ff.,  283, 
289 

—  11-20,  p.  273 

—  14,  P-  143 

—  21,  pp.  255,  384  n. 

—  21-22,  p.  273  ff. 

—  22,  p.  276 

—  23-41,  P- 273 

—  26-27,  p.  278  n. 

—  28,  p.  279 

—  33,  P-  38 

—  34,  p.  279 

XX  1-3,  p.  283  ff. 

—  2,  p.  384  n. 

—  3-5,  p.  286  ff. 

—  4,  p.  280 

—  5>P-2i9 


Index. 


;93 


XX  6,  pp.  70,  261  n.,  262 

—  6-7,  p.  289  f. 

—  7-i3>  P-  290  f- 

—  13,  p.  2S9  f. 

—  14-18,  p.  291  ff. 

—  17,  p.  121 

—  i8ff.,  p.  37 

—  24,  p.  SI 

—  25,  p.  288 

—  28,  pp.  121, 122 

—  34.  PP- 37.  271 

—  36-38,  p.  292  ff. 
XXI      p.  201 

—  1-7,  p.  292  ff. 

—  8,  p.  27 

—  8-1 1,  p.  301  ff. 

—  15-17.  P-  301  ff' 

—  16,  pp.  71.  212 

—  17-XXIV  23,  p,  303 

—  18,  p.  378 

—  i9,P-5i 

—  24,  p.  310 

—  30.  P-  245 

—  39.  P'  31 

—  40,  p.  37 

XXII  3.  p.  32 

-    6-16,  p.  379 

—  12,  p.  180 

—  17.  P-67 

—  17-21,  pp.  60  ff.,  155 

—  21,  p.  67 

—  25,  p.  225 

XXIII  I,  p.  38 

—  16,  p.  35 

—  19.  P-  245 

—  26,  p.  388  n. 

—  35,  p.  212 

XXIV  3,  p.  388  n. 

—  10,  p.  37 

—  17,  pp.  287,  301 

—  22,  p.  265 

—  24-27,  p.  303 

—  27,  p.  306 

XXV  I,  p.  303 

—  13,  p.  212 

XXVI  I,  p.  37 

—  12-18,  p.  379 

—  17,  p.  67 

—  20,  p.  382 

—  25,  p.  388  n. 

XXVII  pp.  201,  339,  345  n. 

—  4.  P-328 

—  5i  P-  129 

—  7-8,  p.  320  f. 

—  9-12,  pp.  321  ff.,  336 


XXVII  13-17,  p.  326  ff. 

—  18-26,  p.  330  ff. 

—  20,  pp.  301,  338 

—  21-26,  pp.  336-7-8-9 

—  27-38,  p.  333  ff- 

—  31.  P-  336 

—  32,  P-  337 

—  33-35.  PP-  336-7-8 

—  33-38.  pp.  337,  339 

—  36,  p.  337 

—  38,  p.  318 

—  39-44.  P-  339  ff- 

—  40.  P-  335 
XXVIII  i-io,  p.  342  ff- 

—  8-11,  p.  303 

—  II,  pp.  324,  343 

—  11-16,  p.  344  ff- 

—  14,  p.  212 

—  16,  p.  362 

—  3031.  P-  344  ff- 

}ioir.ani% 
I  19-32,  p.  251 
IX  1-5,  p.  63 
XII  8,  p.  121 

XV  24,  pp.  255,  274 

—  25,  p.  288 

XVI  3,  pp.  262,  268 

—  10  {.,  p.  353 

I  Corinthiafts. 
pp.  259,  260,  275,  284 

I  2,  p.  127 

II  P-  145 

—  2,  p.  252 
IV  12,  p.  271 

—  17.  pp.  275.  275 

—  18-19,  p.  275 

VIII  4  f.,  p.  172 

—  8,  p.  209 

IX  20  ff.,  p.  82 
XII  10  f.,  p.  370 

—  28,  p.  65 

XIV  I  f.,  p.  370 

XV  32,  pp.  230,  276 

—  p.  277 

XVI  I,  pp.  265,  288 

—  5.  pp.  275.  384 

—  8,  p.  275 

—  9,  pp.  102,  277 

—  17.  P-  275 

—  19,  p.  262 

II  Corinthians. 
pp.  260,  276,  284,  285,  286 
I  8  f.,  pp.  280,  284 

25* 


II  12,  pp.  102,  283 

—  13,  p.  285  D. 

III  7.  p.  39 

—  13.  P-  39 

IV  7  f.,  p.  284 

VII  6  f.,  p.  285  n. 

—  13  f.,  p.  285  n. 

—  15,  p.  284 

VIII  6  f.,  p.  285  n. 

—  16,  p.  284 

—  16-24,  p.  285  n. 

—  17,  p.  284 

—  18,  pp.  219,  391 

—  19,  pp.  54, 122,  28S 

IX  2,  p.  289 

XI  8  f.,  p.  34 

—  9.  P-  34 

—  23  ff.,  pp.  106,  109 

—  25,  p.  328 

XII  2-4,  pp.  60,  97 

—  7,  p.  198 

—  7.  8,  pp.  95.  97 

—  14,  F-  275 

—  18,  pp.  285  n.,  391 

XIII  I,  p.  275 

Gr.'.atians. 

I  p.  67 

—  2,  p.  128 

—  6,  pp.  144,  189 

—  8-10,  pp.  185,  188 

—  II,  p.  185 

—  12-II  10,  p.  188 

—  13.  P-  127 

—  16,  p.  46 

—  17.  P-  380 

—  18  f.,  p.  381 

—  21-23,  p.  47 

—  22,  p.  128 

II  I,  pp.  170,  285,  382 

—  I-IO,  pp.  5,  55  ff- 

—  61  f.,  p.  154 

—  pp.  170,  363 

—  9,  pp.  86,  166 

—  10,  pp.  170,  186 

—  11-14,  pp.  156,  i.-jS  f. 

—  162  ff. 

—  12,  p.  168 

III  I,  pp  I     .  148 

—  3.  P-  188 

—  23-24,  p.  '88 

IV  10,  p.  192 

—  13,  p.  28 

—  14,  0.  96 

—  31.  P-  188 

V  II,  pp.  183,  185 


394 


Index. 


V  13,  p.  189 

IV  15  f.,  p.  240 

II  Timothy. 

—  14.  p.  189 

—  24,  p.  189 

VI 15,  p.  189 

—  16,  p.  228 

—  21,  p.  358 

1 17,  p.  360 
II  9,  p.  360 

Cohssians. 

III  II,  p.  106 

Epkesians, 

P-  358  f. 

IV  10,  pp.  286,  358 

P-  358  f. 

Ill  II,  p.  260 

—    ".  P-  351 

IV  22,  p.  28 

—    21,  p.  36 

—    14.  P-  279 

V  15-16,  p.  148 

IV  3-4.  P-  349 

—    19,  p.  268 

VI  4.  p.  36 

—    5-6.  PP-  148,  149 

Titus, 

—    20,  p.  349 

—    10,  p.  350 

I  5,  p.  286 

Philippians. 

—    14.  PP- 205,  358 

—    5-7.  PP-  121,  122 

pp.  235.  358  ff. 

I  Thessalonians. 

Philemon. 

1 1,  p.  121 

P-235 

P-358 

—    12-14,  p.  357 

I II,  p.  228 

22,  p.  349 

II 19,  p.  350 

II  9,  pp.  34,  220 

24,  p.  358 

—     20f.,  p.  358 

—    p.  271 

—     24  ff.,  p.  358 

—    14-16,  p.  229 

I  Peter. 

in  5,  p.  32 

I II  I,  p.  233 

p.  22 

—    6,  p.  37 

—    1-2,  p.  240 

I  I,  p.  xSi 

-    8,  p.  36 

V  12,  p.  121 

V  13,  p.  351 

IV  3,  p.  358 

Revelation.. 

—    8,  p.  149 

I  Timothy. 

p.  22 

—    15.  P-34 

Ill  I,  p.  122 

II  20,  p.  2T5 

Date  Due 


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